US3081908A - Vending apparatus with visible spiral ball track - Google Patents

Vending apparatus with visible spiral ball track Download PDF

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US3081908A
US3081908A US158361A US15836161A US3081908A US 3081908 A US3081908 A US 3081908A US 158361 A US158361 A US 158361A US 15836161 A US15836161 A US 15836161A US 3081908 A US3081908 A US 3081908A
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slide
ball
track
coin
spiral
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Siegfried Fritz
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    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07FCOIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F11/00Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
    • G07F11/02Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines
    • G07F11/44Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles from non-movable magazines in which magazines the articles are stored in bulk

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  • FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the parts in their normal positions of rest after delivery of a ball.

Description

March 19, 1963 F. SIEGFRIED VENDING APPARATUS WITH VISIBLE SPIRAL BALL TRACK 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. I1, I961 INVENTOR. 77/77 J'l'ey/fl'ed,
WM Affwwe/ March 19, 1963 F. SIEGFRIED 3,081,908
VENDING APPARATUS WITH VISIBLE SPIRAL BALL TRACK Filed Dec. 11, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 19, 1963 F. SIEGFRIED 3,081,908-
VENDING APPARATUS WITH VISIBLE SPIRAL BALL TRACK Filed Dec. 11, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent Ofiice 3,081,908 Patented Mar. 19, 1963 3,081,993 VENDING APPARATUS WETH VISEBLE SFERAL BALL TRACK. Fritz Siegfried, 1636 Meyer Ave, Chicago, ill. Filed Dec. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 158,361 6 Claims. (Q1. 221-155) The present invention relates to apparatus for dispensing items such as balls of gum one at a time in response to delivery of a check such as a coin.
The general object of the invention is to provide, in dispensing apparatus of the above character, a novel unit transfer mechanism which is attractive and interesting to customers, particularly children, and which it is manually operable separately from the coin receiving parts.
Another object is to provide novel interlocking devices which permit manual operation of the unit delivery mechanism only after deposit of a coin and which render the coin receiving parts eifective to accept another coin only after operation of the unit delivery parts.
A more detailed object is to mount a spiral discharge track for movement in a vertical plane and to provide novel mechanism for moving the track a limited amount in response to receipt of a coin so as to deliver one unit to the customer.
The invention also resides in the novel manner of delivering each unit to the track and releasing the track actuating mechanism for movement in response to shifting of a coin receiving member.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of dispensing apparatus embodying the novel features of the present invention, some of the parts being broken away;
FIG. 2 is a reduced perspective view of the apparatus;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 8;
FIGS. 5 and 6 arefragmentary sectional views taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 1 and showing difierent positions of the coin receiving parts;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the coin receiving parts and track actuating mechanism in positions corresponding to the positions of FIG. 6 where the coin slide has been moved to its inner position and the track has been advanced partially out of its normal resting position; and
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 7 but showing the parts in their normal positions of rest after delivery of a ball.
While there has been shown in the drawings and will be described herein one embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions. -It is to be understood further that there is no intention to limit the invention by the specific disclosure but that the aim is to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The invention is especially suited for the dispensing of items like gum balls 10 one at a time and only in response to receipt of a check or coin such as a penny 11. The balls are supported in a reservoir 12 within the upper part of a rectangular housing 13 and are transferred to an exit opening 14 near the base plate or bottom wall 15 of the housing Where they are retained on the exterior by a guard 16 until picked up by the customer. In general, the invention contemplates delivery of each ball from the reservoir to the exit opening by a novel manually operable mechanism which is manipulated by the customer from the exterior of the housing and controls the progress of a ball separately from the coin receiving mechanism and in an interesting manner in the nature of a game so as to attract customers to purchase additional balls.
The novel ball transfer mechanism embodying the invention comprises a movable track 17 connected to a handle 18 on the exterior of the housing 13 and visible through the front Wall 19 which, for this purpose, is transparent. When the handle is operated, a ball on the track descends within the vision and under the control of the operator. To avoid tampering with and unnecessary movement of the track, the mechanism normally is locked but, after delivery of a coin to a coin receiving member 26 and in response to a signal of such delivery, is released for operation by the handle, the receipt of the coin also being utilized to deliver a ball to the track. Movement of the track is limited to the extent needed to deliver the ball to the exit opening. To prevent deposit of another coin before the ball for the previous coin has been delivered, an interlock is provided between the coin receiving member and the transfer mechanism so that receipt of the other coin is blocked until the track is near the end of its limited travel.
In addition to the front wall 19, the housing 13 comprises the bottom base plate 15, a rear opaque wall 21 paralleling the front wall, two opaque side walls 22, and a removable cap 23 with a top wall paralleling the base plate and four vertical walls merging with the side, front and back walls. The walls may be secured to each other and the cap may be secured in place in a suitable manner such as by screws (not shown). The reservoir 12 is located in the upper portion of the housing beneath the cap and is defined by the upper parts of the back and side walls 21 and 22, an inner wall 24 spaced .inwardly from and paralleling the front wall and including a transparent upper section, and a bottom wall 25 defined by downwardly inclined plates converging at a flat bottom plate. The latter is formed with an aperture 26 through which the balls may gravitate after rolling down the inclined plates.
While detection of the delivery of a coin and the giving of the signal may be effected automatically, detection is achieved in this instance by making the coin receiving member 20 a manually shiftable slide having a hole therein just enough larger than the coin 11 so as to receive the coin while rejecting larger coins. The slide is an elongated rectangular member supported by and guided for reciprocation in a U-shaped guideway formed in a lower horizontal plate 27 secured rigidly to a partition 28a attached to the vertical housing Walls 211 and 22 and spaced above the bottom wall 15. An upper plate 28 is secured to the lower plate and overlies the guideway to retain the slide in the guideway. Normally, the slide is urged by a spring 29 to an outer position where the hole is exposed to receive a coin as shown in FIG. 8, the spring acting between a stationary pin 31 upstanding rigidly from the upper guide plate 28 and a horizontal shaft 31 supported in spaced plates 32 upstanding rigidly from the slide on the inside of the housing.
To prevent inward movement of the slide 20 from its outer position except when a coin 11 of the proper size is disposed in the hole, the slide is locked in the outer position by a mechanism which is released when a coin is present. This mechanism comprises a lever 33 fulcrumed at 34 on the underside of the lower stationary guide plate 27 and normally urged by a spring 35 into a locking position in which one end portion 36 is disposed in the path of a coin in the slide hole and the other end portion 37 is received in a locking hole 38 formed in the slide and spaced inwardly of the coin hole. When a coin is present and the slide is shifted inwardly, the coin engages the first end portion 36 of the lever to swing the lever counterclockwise as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6 so that the other end portion 37 is removed from the locking hole, thereby permitting the slide to shift inwardly to its innermost position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 where the coin drops into a suitable receptacle within the housing. Inward and outward movement of the slide is limited by an engagement of shoulders 39 thereon with opposite edges of the upper guide plate.
The manually movable track 17 may take various forms but, to provide a pleasing-and attractive appearance and to transfer a ball by movement in only one direction, preferably is in the form of a spiral. The spinal is mounted to turn in a vertical plane and behind the transparent front wall 19 and, during such turning in a direction opposite to the direction of the spiral, supports a ball 11 as it descends from an entrance position adjacent the center of the spiral to a discharge position at the outermost lower extremity of the'spiral. At the discharge position, the ball gravitates onto guide surfaces 40 which direct it to a bottom exit opening 14 in the front wall behind the guard.
In the present instance, the spiral 17 is formed by a fiat band of metal secured to and supported by arms 41 radiating from a hollow shaft 42. The later telescopes over and is journaled on another shaft 43 projecting horizontally and normal to the front wall 19 from a bearing 44 which is secured to a vertical plate 45. This plate depends rigidly from the underside of a platform 46 supported on posts 47 upstanding from the lower partition 28a. Guide surfaces are provided to maintain the ball in rolling engagement with the track and herein are the inner side of the front wall 19 and the outer side of the inner wall 24. The upper part of the inner wall above thein-clined plates of the bottom reservoir wall 25 is transparent to permit observation of balls within the reservoir but the remainder of the inner plate is opaque to hide the working parts behind the spiral track.
To turn the spiral 17 manually from the exterior of the housing 13, the inner end of the hollow spiral shaft 42 is connected through bevel gears 48 to another shaft 49 journaled at opposite ends in a vertical plate 50 rigid with the platform 46 and in another plate 51 secured against the inner side of one of the side walls 22, that shaft being connected through spur gears 52 and 53 to a shaft 54 supporting the handle 18. The latter shaft extends through and perpendicular to the side wall 22 and is journaled in the plate 51 on the inner side of the wall and a parallel inner plate 55 secured to the first plate, the two straddling one spur gear 53 which is fast on the shaft. It will be apparent that there is a direct connection between the handle and the track, resulting in rotation of the track when the handle is turned. Such rotation is limited to the proper direction for descent of a ball by a pawl 56 engageable with the spur gear teeth as shown in FIG. 3.
A 'ball delivery mechanism is provided to deliver one ball 11 to the track 17 at the entrance position in response to inward shifting of the coin slide 20. This mechanism comprises a rotary plate 57 secured to a vertical shaft 58 and having radial fins 59 defining upwardly opening recesses beneath the aperture 26 in the bottom reservoir wall 25. The fins are angularly spaced so that each of the recesses is just large enough for one ball but too small for two balls. The vertical shaft is journaled in the platform 46 and the lower partition 28a and, at its lower end portion, is connected to the slide through a pawl and ratchet mechanism. While this mechanism may take various forms, herein it comprises a pawl 60 in the form of a hook pivoted at 61 on an arm 62 rigid with the slide (FIGS. 7 and 8) and cooperating with radiating teeth 63 on a lower rotary plate engageable with and lying against the upper side of the partition 28a. The upper rotary plate 57 is disposed between the platform 46 and the bottom reservoir plate 25 and is surrounded by a cylindrical wall 64 having a front opening adjacent the shaft 42 of the spiral 17. The upper rotary plate is conical so that balls falling into the pockets defined by the fins roll outwardly and downwardly through the opening in the cylindrical wall and onto the spiral. The pawl 60 for the ball delivery mechanism is yieldably urged by gravity into active engagement with its cooperating teeth 63.
To avoid tampering with the spiral transfer mechanism and to render it effective only when delivery of a coin has been signaled, an interlock is provided between the slide 20 and this mechanism, movement of the slide into its inner position constituting the signal. The interlock renders the mechanism effective and disables it in response to movement of the slide and permits turning of the spiral 17 only when a coin has been delivered to the slide and the latter has been shifted inwardly as permitted by the presence of the coin 11. The interlock conveniently operates on the driving spur gear 53 which, to permit the spiral to rotate a plurality of times equal to the number of convolutions, is correspondingly larger than the driven spur gear 52. To prevent rotation of the spiral normally, the lock comprises a pin :64 guided in a stationary vertical post 65 and a sleeve 66 (FIG. 4) rigid with the inner gear plate 55, the pin moving horizontally along an axis paralleling the driving gear axis and into and out of a recess 67 formed in the gear. A spring 68 acting between the post and a shoulder 69 on the pin normally urges the pin toward its inner position within the recess in the gear as shown in FIG. 4, the pin engaging the face of the gear when the recess shifts out of registry with the pin.
Tourge the lock pin 64 outwardly to release the spiral turning mechanism in response to inward shifting of the coin slide 20, a cam 70 on a post 71 upstanding from the slide (FIGS. 7 and 8) engages a follower 72 rigid with the pin to urge the follower and the pin away from the spur gear 53. The pin is held in a released position outside of the recess 67 to permit turning of the spur gear as long as the slide is in its inner position. Upon outward shifting of the slide, the pin is urged by its spring 68 against the side of the spur gear for entry into the locking recess when the recess registers with the pin.
Cooperating with the first interlock is a second interlock which acts to retain the coin slide 2% in its inner position during substantially all of the limited rotation of the spiral 17 so as to avoid delivery of a second coin 11 until the ball for a previously delivered coin is adjacent the release position for gravitation to the exit opening 14. The second interlock comprises a latch 73 pivoted on the shaft 31 on the slide to swing in a vertical plane and hooking over a vertical keeper bar 74 upstanding rigidly from the lower guide plate 27, the rearmost surface of the latch being inclined as indicated at 75 to engage the bar and pass over the top of the bar during rearward movement of the slide. The latch drops by gravity behind the bar when the slide reaches the inner-most position.
Release of the latch 73 for outward movement of the slide 20 under the action of its spring 29 is effected as an incident to turning of the spiral 17 and near the end of the limited spiral movement. For this purpose, a cam bar 76 projecting radially from and rotatable with the driving gear shaft 54- engages a follower rod 77 on the latch and swings the rod in a direction to raise the latch. Interference with proper locking of the latch over the keeper bar 74 during inward movement of the slide is avoided by providing a lost motion between the latch release bar and the driving gear shaft. Such lost motion is obtained herein by making the bar rigid with a sleeve 78 journaled on the shaft and having a slot 79 receiving a pin 80 radiating from the shaft. A counterweight 8 1 radiating from a side of the sleeve opposite the bar swings the sleeve to take up the lost motion in one direction to raise the bar out of the path of the rod as the slide is shifted inwardly. The lost motion is taken up in the opposite direction after the latch release bar engages the rod during rotation of the driving gear shaft. Once the lost motion is taken up in the opposite direction and as the rotation continues, the bar depresses the rod to raise the latch and the slide is thereby permitted to shift outwardly under the action of its spring 29.
In the operation of the improved dispensing apparatus, let it be assumed that the parts are in their normal condition of rest with the slide 20 locked in its outer coin receiving position and the spiral 17 and its driving mechanism locked with the pin 64 held in its recess 67 in the driving spur gear 53 by its spring 63. When a coin 11 of the proper size is placed in the hole in the slide and the latter is pushed inwardly, the locking lever 33 is engaged by the coin and swung against the action of its spring 35 to lower the end portion 37 out of the hole 38 in the slide and release the slide for movement to its inner position. During this movement, the ball delivery pawl 60 is engaging one of its cooperating teeth 63 and turns the ball carrying wheel 57, '59 through a partial revolution to deliver a ball to the entrance position of the spiral. Also, the cam 7%) on the slide engages the follower 72 on the locking pin to shift the pin out of the driving gear recess 67 and thereby release the spiral driving mechanism for movement. As the slide approaches and reaches its innermost position, the latch 73 is raised over and drops behind the keeper bar 74-, the counterweight 81 having taken up the lost motion of the pin 80 and slot 79 so as to raise the latch release bar '76 out of the path of the rod 77 on the latch.
Once the spiral 17 is released, a ball 10 is transferred to the release position at the bottom of the spiral simply by turning the handle 18. During this turning, the ball descends from one convolution of the spiral to the next, as indicated in dotted outline in the lower portion of FIG. 1. The driving gear 53 being larger than the driven gear 52 in a ratio of the number of desired revolutions of the spiral, the driving gear turns through only a single revolution as the spiral 17 turns to deliver the ball to the exit opening 14. As the spiral approaches the limit of this movement, the latch release bar 76 engages the latch rod 77 to take up the lost motion of the pin 80 and slot 79 and, when this has occurred, to raise the latch 73 to permit the slide 20 to shift to its outer position under the action of its spring 29. During this shifting, the cam 70 is withdrawn from the follower 72 to permit the lockpin 64 to engage the side of the driving gear 53 and to enter the recess 67 when the two are in registry at the end of the spiral movement. Outward movement of the slide also is accompanied by raising of the locking end portion 37 of the coin locking lever 33 into engagement with the underside of the slide so that when the slide reaches its outer position, such end portion enters the hole 38 to lock the slide in the outer position. The parts then are in their starting positions, ready to receive another coin and deliver another ball to the exit opening.
It will be apparent that the dispensing mechanism is attractive and pleasurable to customers and yet is operable to deliver a ball only in response to delivery of a coin. This is achieved by virtue of the interlocks which also prevent the deposit of a second coin until a ball for a previous coin has been delivered.
I claim as my invention:
1. A dispensing machine having, in combination, a housing having a transparent front wall in a vertical plane, a spiral track mounted to rotate in a vertical plane parallel to and behind said wall and adapted to support a ball for descent from an entrance position adjacent the axis of rotation to a release position at the outer peripheral extremity of the track as the track rotates, an exit opening in said front 'all adjacent said release position for the exit of a ball gravitating from the track, a slide adapted to receive a coin on the exterior of said housing and mounted on the housing to shift between an outer coin receiving position and an inner coin discharge position, a ball reservoir supported in said housing above said axis and having a bottom opening, a ball delivery member mounted beneath said reservoir to receive a ball gravitating through said bottom opening and movable from the opening to said entrance position to deliver the ball to said track, a connection between said slide and said member operable to shift the member to transfer a ball to said entrance position as an incident to inward shifting of the slide, manually operable turning mechanism having a handle on the exterior of said housing and connected to said spiral for turning the same to deliver a ball from said entrance position to said release position, yieldable means urging said slide outwardly, a releasable lock mechanism rendered effective as an incident to movement of the slide to its inner position and operable to hold the slide in such position, said turning mechanism having a connection with said lock mechanism for releasing the slide as an incident to and near the end of turning of said spiral to deliver a ball to said release position, and a second releasable lock mechanism normally operable to prevent actuation of said turning mechanism but connected to said slide for release of the locking mechanism to permit actuation of the turning mechanism when the slide has been shifted inwardly from its outermost position and for actuating the mechanism to lock the spiral after it has turned through a predetermined number of revolutions.
2. A dispensing machine having, in combination, a housing having a transparent front wall in a vertical plane, a track mounted to move in a vertical plane parallel to and behind said wall and adapted to support a ball for descent from an upper entrance position to a lower release position as the track moves, an exit opening in said front wall adjacent said release position for the exit of a ball gravitating from the track, a slide adapted to receive a coin on the exterior of said housing and mounted on the housing to shift between an outer coin receiving position and an inner coin discharge position, a ball reservoir supported in said housing above said axis and having a bottom opening, a rotary ball delivery member mounted beneath said reservoir to receive a ball gravitating through said bottom opening and rotatable from the opening to said entrance position to deliver the ball to said track, a pawl and ratchet connection between said slide and said member operable to shift the member to transfer a ball to said entrance position as an incident to inward shifting of the slide, manually operable mechanism having a handle on the exterior of said housing and connected to said track for moving the same to deliver a ball from said entrance position to said release position, and a connection between said manually operable mechanism and said slide operable to disable the mechanism and render it effective selectively in response to movement of the slide to different positions.
3. A dispensing machine having, in combination, a housing having a transparent front wall in a vertical plane, a spiral track mounted to rotate in a vertical plane parallel to and behind said wall and adapted to support a ball for descent from an entrance position adjacent the axis of rotation to a release position at the outer peripheral extremity of the track as the track rotates, an exit opening in said front wall adjacent said release position for the exit of a ball gravitating from the track, a slide adapted to receive a coin on the exterior of said housing and mounted on the housing to shift between an outer coin receiving position and an inner coin discharge position, manually operable turning mechanism having a handle on the exterior of said housing and connected to said spiral for turning the same to deliver a ball from said entrance position to said release position, yieldable means urging said slide outwardly, a releasable lock mechanism rendered effective as an incident to movement of the slide to its inner position and operable to hold the slide in such position, said turning mechanism having a connection with said lock mechanism for releasing the slide as an incident to and near the end of turning of said spiral to deliver a ball to said release position, and a second releasable lock mechanism normally operable to prevent actuation of said turning mechanism but connected to said slide for release of the locking mechanism to permit actuation of the turning mechanism when the slide has been shifted inwardly from its outermost position and for actuating the second locking mechanism to lock said spiral after it has turned through a predetermined number of revolutions.
4. A dispensing machine having, in combination, a housing having a transparent front wall in a vertical plane, a track mounted to move in a vertical plane parallel to and behind said Wall and adapted to support a ball for descent from an upper entrance position to a lower release position as the track moves, an exit opening in said front wall adjacent said release position for the exit of a ball gravitating from the track, a slide adapted to receive a coin on the exterior of said housing and mounted on the housing to shift between an outer coin receiving position and an inner coin discharge position, manually operable turning mechanism having a handle on the exterior of said housing and connected to said track for moving the track to deliver a ball from said entrance position to said release position, yieldable means urging said slide outwardly, a first releasable lock mechanism rendered efiective as an incident to movement of the slide to its inner position and operable to hold the slide in such position, said turning mechanism having a connection with said lock mechanism for releasing the slide as an incident to and near the end of a limited movement of said track to deliver a ball to said release position, and a second releasable lock mechanism normally operable to prevent actuation of said turning mechanism but connected to said slide for release of the locking mechanism to permit actuation of the turning mechanism when the slide has been shifted inwardly from its outermost position and for actuating the locking mechanism to lock said track after it has completed its limited movement.
,5. The combination of claim 4 in which said turning mechanism includes a large gear rotatable on the interior of said housing, said second lock mechanism including a member reciprocable into and out of a position of locking engagement with a part on said gear and cam and follower surfaces on the member and said slide for shifting the member out of such engagement when the slide is shifted into its inner position and for releasing the mem her to shift into locking engagement when the slide is shifted out of its inner position.
6. The combination of claim 4 in which said first lock mechanism includes a latch mounted on said slide for movement into and out of locking engagement with a stationary keeper, a member mounted on and having a lost motion connection with said turningmechanism so as to move both with and relative to the mechanism, and an element on said latch located in the path of said member with the slide in its inner position and engaged by the member to move the latch out of said locking engagement with the keeper when said track approaches the end of said limited movement, said lost motion connection permitting said latch element to move past said member and said latch into engagement with said keeper.
References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,765,463 Strumpf June 24, 1930 2,061,366 Mittleman May 14, 1935 2,838,159 Siegfried June 10, 1958

Claims (1)

1. A DISPENSING MACHINE HAVING, IN COMBINATION, A HOUSING HAVING A TRANSPARENT FRONT WALL IN A VERTICAL PLANE, A SPIRAL TRACK MOUNTED TO ROTATE IN A VERTICAL PLANE PARALLEL TO AND BEHIND SAID WALL AND ADAPTED TO SUPPORT A BALL FOR DESCENT FROM AN ENTRANCE POSITION ADJACENT THE AXIS OF ROTATION TO A RELEASE POSITION AT THE OUTER PERIPHERAL EXTREMITY OF THE TRACK AS THE TRACK ROTATES, AN EXIT OPENING IN SAID FRONT WALL ADJACENT SAID RELEASE POSITION FOR THE EXIT OF A BALL GRAVITATING FROM THE TRACK, A SLIDE ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A COIN ON THE EXTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING AND MOUNTED ON THE HOUSING TO SHIFT BETWEEN AN OUTER COIN RECEIVING POSITION AND AN INNER COIN DISCHARGE POSITION, A BALL RESERVOIR SUPPORTED IN SAID HOUSING ABOVE SAID AXIS AND HAVING A BOTTOM OPENING, A BALL DELIVERY MEMBER MOUNTED BENEATH SAID RESERVOIR TO RECEIVE A BALL GRAVITATING THROUGH SAID BOTTOM OPENING AND MOVABLE FROM THE OPENING TO SAID ENTRANCE POSITION TO DELIVER THE BALL TO SAID TRACK, A CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID SLIDE AND SAID MEMBER OPERABLE TO SHIFT THE MEMBER TO TRANSFER A BALL TO SAID ENTRANCE POSITION AS AN INCIDENT TO INWARD SHIFTING OF THE SLIDE, MANUALLY OPERABLE TURNING MECHANISM HAVING A HANDLE ON THE EXTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING AND CONNECTED TO SAID SPIRAL FOR TURNING THE SAME TO DELIVER A BALL FROM SAID ENTRANCE POSITION TO SAID RELEASE POSITION, YIELDABLE MEANS URGING SAID SLIDE OUTWARDLY, A RELEASABLE LOCK MECHANISM RENDERED EFFECTIVE AS AN INCIDENT TO MOVEMENT OF THE SLIDE TO ITS INNER POSITION AND OPERABLE TO HOLD THE SLIDE IN SUCH POSITION, SAID TURNING MECAHANISM HAVING A CONNECTION WITH SAID LOCK MECHANISM FOR RELEASING THE SLIDE AS AN INCIDENT TO AND NEAR THE END OF TURNING OF SAID SPIRAL TO DELIVER A BALL TO SAID RELEASE POSITION, AND A SECOND RELEASABLE LOCK MECHANISM NORMALLY OPERABLE TO PREVENT ACTUATION OF SAID TURNING MECAHANISM BUT CONNECTED TO SAID SLIDE FOR RELEASE OF THE LOCKING MECHANISM TO PERMIT ACTUATION OF THE TURNING MECHANISIM WHEN THE SLIDE HAS BEEN SHIFTED INWARDLY FROM ITS OUTERMOST POSITION AND FOR ACTUATING THE MECHANISM TO LOCK THE SPIRAL AFTER IT HAS TURNED THROUGH A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS.
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Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3173466A (en) * 1962-01-25 1965-03-16 Long Lok Corp Self-locking threaded insert
US3254928A (en) * 1964-01-09 1966-06-07 Ronald D Clatterbuck Storing device
US4440312A (en) * 1981-11-25 1984-04-03 L. M. Becker & Co., Inc. Vending machine with front display area
FR2611952A1 (en) * 1987-03-02 1988-09-09 Lopez Pierre System for dispensing tennis or golf balls automatically and singly
US5452822A (en) * 1994-04-25 1995-09-26 Haymond; Dave E. Gumball machine
US5897022A (en) * 1996-07-12 1999-04-27 Mann; Ross Kinetic activity gumball dispensing device

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1765463A (en) * 1929-10-02 1930-06-24 Strumpf Theodore Sanitary toilet-seat cover
US2001366A (en) * 1933-02-23 1935-05-14 Benjamin E Mittelman Game
US2838159A (en) * 1957-04-17 1958-06-10 Siegfried Fritz Spiral ball conveyor

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1765463A (en) * 1929-10-02 1930-06-24 Strumpf Theodore Sanitary toilet-seat cover
US2001366A (en) * 1933-02-23 1935-05-14 Benjamin E Mittelman Game
US2838159A (en) * 1957-04-17 1958-06-10 Siegfried Fritz Spiral ball conveyor

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3173466A (en) * 1962-01-25 1965-03-16 Long Lok Corp Self-locking threaded insert
US3254928A (en) * 1964-01-09 1966-06-07 Ronald D Clatterbuck Storing device
US4440312A (en) * 1981-11-25 1984-04-03 L. M. Becker & Co., Inc. Vending machine with front display area
FR2611952A1 (en) * 1987-03-02 1988-09-09 Lopez Pierre System for dispensing tennis or golf balls automatically and singly
US5452822A (en) * 1994-04-25 1995-09-26 Haymond; Dave E. Gumball machine
US5897022A (en) * 1996-07-12 1999-04-27 Mann; Ross Kinetic activity gumball dispensing device

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