US3432074A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Description

March 11, 1969 A. M. aRowN VENDING MACHINE Filed uarcn 21. 1967 Shet 46' P JZZ' 47 INI/ENT OR ANGUS M. BRW/V .ZTORNEV Sheet Z of .'3

March 11, 1969 A. M. BROWN VENDING MACHINE Filed March 2l, 1967 EIL n +V? W N 2.! Mmmhunnunnn.ninl:\\n\\\-!\\-\\!\!m u 1 AWV m u 2 .o m M R E u m5 o M ww m W# MM m n m f M 2 Wm JN A W- l i 3 l m March 11, 1969 Filed March 2l. 1967 A. M. BROWN VENDING MACHINE Sheet 3 o E l 52' 5 ""1 l l l f 554/53 5/ 69 8l l I 49 m; 58' --a L l /4 74 7J INVENTOR 79 ,4A/Gus M. BROWN BY F l 3. ffm ffm ATTORNEY United States Patent O 10 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A vending machine comprising a supporting platform with an aperture for the passage of articles to be clispensed to a delivery chute, a merchandise magazine disposed above said platform, but offset from said aperture, for holding a stack of articles to be dispensed, a carriage slidable over said platform and under such a stack, and mechanism for sliding said carriage to move the lowermost article of the stack to the aperture when it is replaced by the next article thereabove for later dispensing, and empty lock means to prevent coin acceptance when there is no article available for being dispensed.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application, Ser. No. 537,550, filed Mar. 25, 1966, now abandoned and similarly titled.

This invention relates to vending machines and, more particularly, to that class of coin-controlled machines which allow for the dispensing of a selected article or package therefrom upon the insertion of a coin representing the purchase price.

In recent years it has become common practice to dispenses candy bars, chewing gum, other confections, soft drinks, milk, and coffee by means of coin-actuated vending machines. In accordance with my invention, I propose a machine which allows for the coin dispensing of articles of merchandise, examples being boxed candy, bottled drinks, and other relatively small articles while stacked in desirably dual columns or merchandise magazines, when released, upon the acceptance of a suitable coin by the machine, alternately from said columns.

In one embodiment, my machine involves the placing of the articles to be dispensed in a magazine as two stacks spaced one behind `the other, and the employment of a carriage movable beneath the magazine Which holds the articles in place` for, upon release of coin-controlled `mechanism, withdrawing the lowermost article from one stack and discharging it downward at a position immediately beneath the space between said stacks, and upon another release of the coin-controlled mechanism, withdrawing the lowermost article from the other stack and discharging it downward at the same position as the first-mentioned article was discharged.

An object of my invention is to provide a vending machine comprising a supporting platform, a merchandise delivery chute ltherebeneath, wherein said platform has an aperture of width slightly greater than the corresponding dimension of articles to be dispensed and leading to said chute, a merchandise magazine mounted on said platform over the aperture to hold a first stack of articles of merchandise near the back and a second stack of such articles spaced forwardly thereof a distance slightly greater than the corresponding dimension of articles to be dispensed, a carriage, slidable over said platform and under said stacks, being employed for dispensing from rst one stack, then the other, the dimension of said carriage from front to rear being greater than the corresponding dimension of the magazine by an amount corresponding with the front-to-rear dimension of the aperture, mechanism for sliding said carriage being employed to alternately move the lowermost article of the rearward of said stacks forward until it drops through said aperture into said chute and the lowermost article of the forward of said stacks rearward until it drops through said aperture into said chute, and wherein said removed articles are replaced from the articles directly thereabove in said stacks.

Another object of my invention is to provide, in a machine as above described, such a carriage with a front connector portion, a gear or sprocket wheel disposed forwardly of said magazine and pivoted about a vertical axis, a coin-controlled gear or sprocket wheel turnable about a horizontal axis, meshing `with the first-mentioned gear or sprocket wheel, and turnable from the front of the machine, and a link with its rear end portion pivoted to said connector portion and its front end portion pivoted to the top face of said first-mentioned gear or sprocket wheel.

A further object of my invention is the provision of such a vending machine, wherein the magazine comprises side walls, intermediate portions of which are formed to define guides for the two stacks of articles, said guides being completed by flanges extending inwardly toward one another at the front and a wall at the rear, and wherein walls thereof have portions cut away at the bottom to allow for movement of said carriage therebeneath.

A still further object of my invention is to provide, in a vending machine as above described, a carriage formed by side, front and rear walls of height smaller than the vertical thickness of the articles to be dispensed, said side walls being straight, and the front and rear walls having intermediate portions offset toward one another distances in accordance with the corresponding dimension of the articles to be dispensed, forming hollow arms in which legs of the magazine are to be alternately lit as the carriage is moved back and forth therebeneath, or as an alternative, in which the forward and rearward portions of the carriage are provided 'with upwardly-offset portions forming article-supporting shelves.

An additional object of my invention is to provide in a vending machine as above described, an empty lock lever which, when there is no article available to be dispensed, either locks over an edge of the supporting platform or in an apertured portion of a supporting platform and one in a coin-controlled gear or sprocket wheel to prevent movement of the mechanism and acceptance of a coin.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and do not define the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

FIGURE l is a fragmentary front perspective View of a vending machine embodying my invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line II-II of FIGURE 4, in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line III-III of FIGURE 5, in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary horizontal 'sectional view on the line IV-IV of FIGURE 2, in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view 3 on the line VV of FIGURE 3, in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, to an enlarged scale, on the line VI-VI of FIGURE 4, in the direction of the arrolws.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View to the scale of FIGURE 6 but on the line VII- VII of FIGURE 5, and showing what happens to the empty lock lever when not engaged by an article to be dispensed.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line VIII-VIII Of FIGURE 2, in the direction of the arrows, but to a smaller scale.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary plan corresponding to FIGURE but showing a modication.

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary plan corresponding to FIGURE 9, but with parts of the supporting platform of the machine broken away to show the mechanism therebeneath.

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line XI-XI of FIGURE 9, in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line X-II-X-I-I of FIGURE 9, in the direction of the arrows.

Referring first to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 8, inclusive, the vending machine 10 has a supporting platform 11, for one or more merchandise-holding magazines or columns 12. The platform 11 is apertured at 13 for the reception of articles as dispensed into a discharge chute 14. The chute 14 is shown as provided Xwith an outer stop member 15, against which a dispensed article 16 comes to rest so that it may then be withdrawn by a purchaser.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the vending machine 10 may be housed in a cabinet 17 supported on legs 1S, fragmentarily illustrated, and closed at its front by a panel 19 on which are mounted one or more, in this instance four, coin release devices 20. Above each coin release device is a display panel 21 showing samples 22, 23, 24 and 25 of desirably different articles, one of which the purchaser can expect to get by inserting an appropriate coin in a selected receiving slot 26 therebeneath and turning the corresponding actuating handle 27 as far as it will go, or 360.

There is a generally vertical merchandise magazine or column 12 for each of the actuating handles 27, but inasmuch as these may be identical, only one and its associated mechanism will be described. The magazine 12, as shown most clearly in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, comprises a pair of side walls 28 intermediate portions 29 of which, desirably about a's wide as the platform aperture, are connected near their lower ends by a brace 30, are offset inwardly toward one another to form ribs delining guiding channels or guides 31 and 32 rearwardly and forwardly thereof for two stacks of articles 16. These guides are completed at the front of the column or magazine 12 by flanges 33 extending toward one another and a wall 34 at the rear. The side walls 28 and rear wall 34 have intermediate portions cut away at the bottom to leave legs 35 of a length corresponding with the height of the associated carriage 36 to allow for movement of said carriage therebetween. The carriage 36 is generally uniform in width from front to rear for the purpose of dispensing articles from first one stack and then the other. It is of a length from front to rear greater than the corresponding dimension of the magazine 12 by an amount corresponding 4with the width of the aperture 13.

The structure of the carriage 36 is most cleariy shown in FIGURE 5. Its side, front, and rear walls and a crossbrace are all of a height slightly smaller but generally corresponding with the vertical thickness of the articles to be dispensed. The side lwalls 37 are straight and with their central portions desirably connected by a straight partition or brace 38. The front and rear walls 39 and 41, however, have respective intermediate portions 42 and 43 offset toward one another distances corresponding with the corresponding dimension of the articles to be dispensed, leaving hollow arms 44 to 47, inclusive. These arms are formed by parts of the side walls 37, short front and rear wall portions and wall portions 40 paralleling the side walls and connecting the short front Wall portions to the offset portions 42 and the short rear wall portions to the offset portions 43. The legs 35 of the magazine are to alternately t in said hollow arms as the carriage is moved back and forth beneath said magazine.

The inwardly offset portion 42 at the front is provided with connecting means such as a pull bracket 48 secured to the front of the carriage or front face of said offset portion and providing an outstanding flange 49 pivotally connected to a link 51, as indicated at 52. The front end of the link 51 is, in turn, pivotally connected to a stud 53 upstanding from the top face of gear or sprocket wheel 54, pivotally mounted on the platform 11, as indicated at 55.

Each coin release mechanism 56, actuated by a handle 27 when released by a coin, is provided with a gear or sprocket Wheel 57, pivoted about a horizontal axis indicated at 58, and meshing with the sprocket wheel 54 to provide a gear reduction of 1:2. This means that one complete revolution of the sprocket wheel 57 results in only a half revolution of the sprocket Iwheel 54, that is, from the position of FIGURE 4 to that of FIGURE 5, or vice versa.

Each carriage 36 is provided with at least one at front and rear, desirably four empty lock levers 59 pivoted one to each of the hollow arms 44 and 45, as indicated at 61, and one to each of the hollow arms 46 and 47 on the ywall portions 40 thereof. Each lever 59 carries a curved member 62 upstanding therefrom when engaged by an article 16 of the corresponding stack of articles which is immediately above the carriage 36, as shown most clearly in FIGURE 6. The rear rwall 34 of the magazine 12 is notched as indicated at 60 to allow for passage of these cuived members 62 of the rear levers 59. It then thereby holds the lever 59 up so that its depending portion 63 is above the platform 11 and at or near a stop lug 64- formed on the corresponding arm of the carriage. This means that when such an article of merchandise is in place, the machine 10 is operative as the lugs 63 does not interfere with the movement of the carriage 36.

However, if the supply of articles 16 to be dispensed becomes depleted suciently so that there is no article to merchandise engaging the curved portions 62 of the empty lock levers 59, so that said levers are allowed to drip by gravity to a position corresponding with that of FIGURE 7, then when the carriage reaches the position there shown, the depending portion 63 of each of said levers latches over the inner edge 65, or the outer edge 65', of the platform 11, as the case may be, and locks the carriage 36 against movement. The carriage would in this case also be ineffective to dispense an article because of the depletion of supply thereof. rIhis locking consequently also prevents acceptance of a coin in the corresponding slot 26 by preventing turning of the appropriate handle 27.

Referring now to the second embodiment of my invention, it will be noted that the parts thereof which diifer from those of the first embodiment are illustrated in FIG- URES 9, 10, 1l and 12. However, these figures are supplemented by FIGURE 1 and parts of FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 in order to fully disclose said second embodiment.

In accordance with said second embodiment, there is a vending machine 10 with a supporting platform 11', for one or more merchandise-holding magazines or columns 12', apertured at 13' for the reception of articles as dispensed into a discharge chute 14 like that designated 14 in FIGURE 2. As shown in FIGURES 1 and l1, the vending machine 10 may be housed in a cabinet 17 supported on legs 18, fragmentarily illustrated, and closed at its front by a panel 19 on which are mounted one or more, in this instance four, coin release devices 20.

There is a merchandise magazine or column 12 for each of the actuating handles 27', but inasmuch as these may be identical, only one and its associated mechanism will be described. The magazine 12', is designated 12 and shown generally most clearly in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, as described in connection with the rst embodiment. It is here modified as illustrated in FIGURE 1l, to be described.

The second embodiment of my invention employs a carriage 36' of a form especially adapted to support a stack of articles relatively heavy as compared with those designated 16 in the first form. The structure of the carriage 36' is most clearly shown in FIGURES 9, l1 and 12. Its side walls, a crossbrace and other connecting elements are all of a height slightly smaller but generally corresponding with the vertical thickness of the articles to be dispensed, as in the first embodiment. The side walls 37' are straight and with their central portions desirably connected by a straight partition or brace 38'. The front and rear portions 39' and 41', however, are desirably connected at their ends to the bottom edges of the side walls 37' and have respective intermediate portions offset upwardly to provide shelves 50 at the level of the top edges of the side walls to support stacks of the articles to be dispensed.

The shelf 50 at the front is provided with connecting means here shown as a pull bracket l43' fastened to the bottom face of said shelf and forming a downwardly spaced plate portion 49' to which a link 51' is pivotally connected, as indicated at 52'. The front end of the link 51' is, in turn, pivotally connected to a stud 53 upstanding from the top face of a gear or sprocket Wheel 54 pivotally mounted on a platform 11', as indicated at 55.

In the present embodiment, the merchandise magazine or column 12 cannot be supported on legs which ride in corresponding openings in the carriages because there are no such openings in the improved carriages 36. Therefore, the magazine 12 is here supported by suitable means such as brackets 35', only one of which is shown in FIGURE l1. These brackets 35 each may have an opstanding flange secured to the inner face of the rear wall of an enclosing cabinet 17' and a depending front ange which may be secured to the rear wall of the magazine 12. Thus the bottom of the magazine 12 is held above the platform with enough space allowed for the carriage 36' to slide therebeneath.

Each coin release mechanism, in the present embodiment, is actuated by a handle 27', as inl the first embodiment, where the handle is designated 27, when released by a coin. It is also` provided with a gear or sprocket wheel 57', pivoted about a horizontal axis indicated at 58', and meshing with the sprocket wheel 54' to provide a gear reduction of 1:2, as previously.

The empty lock levers 59', one for each lock, in the present embodiment are an improvement over and replacement for those designated 59 in the first embodi- `ment. They are each pivoted as indicated at 61', to lugs 66 depending from brackets -67 secured to the underside of the portion of the platform 11' supporting the sprocket wheels 54'. Each lever A59' has a relatively-wide portion from which lugs depend between and respectively adjacent the lugs 66. Each pivot member, which may be a cotter pin 61', passes through registering apertures in a set of associated lugs to effect a desired pivotal connection.

Each lever 59' has secured to its wide portion an empty lock weight 68, biasing the lever counter-clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE r11, so that its narrowed angular portion 69, at the left hand rearward corner portion thereof, as viewed in FIGURE l0, protrudes through an aperture 71 in the platform 1.1', with its extreme rear end portion overlying the platform portion defining the rear edge of the aperture. Each lever 59 also has a narrowed portion 72 protruding from the right hand forward corner part of the wide portion thereof and overlying the right hand end portion of an empty lock arm or lever 73. The arm 73 is fastened intermediate its ends by a pivot member 70 to the depending flange 74 of an angular bracket 75, the upper flange of which is secured to the lower side of the platform 11' by suitable means, not shown.

The arm 73, biased to swing counter-clockwise as viewed from the front, has an upstanding lug 76 at its left end which protrudes through a slot 77 thereabove in the platform 11 when engaged by the lever 59 and locks the sprocket wheel 54' against turning when received in an aperture 78 therein which is displaced :from its axis. Normally, an article 16 of the outer stack, which is immediately above the narrowed angular portion 69 engages and holds down this portion, thereby allowing the lug 76 to stay down out of locking engagement with the sprocket wheel 54'. This mechanism is desirably protected by an empty lock cover 79, such as illustrated in FIGURE 1l, secured thereunder by suitable means.

This means that when such an article of merchandise 16 is in place, the machine is operative as the lug 7'6 does not interfere with the movement of the sprocket wheel 54'. However, if the supply of articles 16 to be dispensed becomes depleted sufliciently so that there is no article of merchandise engaging the portion `69 of an empty lock lever 59', whereby said lever is allowed to drop by gravity to the position of FIGURE ll then, when the sprocket wheel reaches the position opposite that of FIGURE 9, the upstanding lug 76 latches into the locking aperture 78 and locks the wheel 54 and carriage 36' against movement. The carriage 36 would in this case also be ineffective to dispense an article because of the depletion of the supply thereof. This locking consequently also prevents acceptance of a coin in the corresponding slot 26 when no article is available, by preventing turning of the appropriate handle 27'. Except as specifically described in connection with the second embodiment, the same may correspond with the first embodiment.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a machine embodying my invention may be operated as follows: The columns or magazines 12 or 12' are supplied with the desired number of articles 16 to be dispensed so that, when each carriage 36 or 36' is in the innermost position of FIGURES 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, the empty lock lever 59 or 59' is held from locking engagement in the Ifirst ernbodiment as indicated in FIGURE 6. In the second embodiment, it is the engagement of an article with the portion 69 of the lever 59' that releases the sprocket wheel 54'. Each deposit of a suitable coin in the selected slot 26 will then allow turning of the corresponding handle 27 or 27', thereby effecting a movement of the sprocket wheel 54 or 54' Afrom the position of FIGURES 2 and 4 to that of FIGURES 3 and 5 or FIGURE 9, or vice versa.

In moving from the position of FIGURES 2 and 4 to that of FIGURES 3 and 5 or 9 the lowermost article 16 of the front stack which had initially been, or previously dropped,ion the platform '11 or 11' is pushed off said platform through the aperture 13 or 13 to the chute 14 or 14' as viewed in FIGURE 3 or FIGURE 11 for discharge to the stop 15. Said lowenmotst article is then replaced by the one designated 16' in FIGURE 3, which then does not rest on the platform 11 or 111' but rather is supported on the arms 44 and 45 of a carriage 36 or on a shelf 50 of a carriage 36'.

Upon inserting another coin in the same slot, the carriage 36 or 36' may be moved from the position of FIGURES 3 and 5 or 9 to that of FIGURES 2 and 4, whereupon the lowermost article 16 of the rear stack, which had initially been, or previously dropped, on the platform 11 or 11' is pulled forward and discharged through the aperture 13 or 13 to the chute 14, or 14' as shown in FIGURES 2 and l1. The article designated 16 in FIGURE 2 immediatelly thereabove does not then drop to the platform 11 or 11. it is, rather, supported on the arms 46 and 47 of a carriage 36 or on a shelf 50 of a carriage 36 until the next movement of said carriage 36 or 36. On said next movement this article is allowed to drop to a position forwardly of the intermediate portion 43 or of the rear shelf 50, between the side walls 37 or 37 and rearwardly of the partition 3S or 33 of a carriage, to be discharged Awhen the carriage is again moved forward.

Having now described my invention in detail in accordance with the requirements of the patent statutes, those skilled in this art will have no difficulty in making changes or modifications in the individual parts or their relative assembly in order to meet specific requirements or conditions. Such changes and modifications may be without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, as set forth in the following claims. It will also be understood that the coin release mechanism may be conventional.

I claim:

1. A vending machine comprising a supporting platform, a merchandise delivery chute therebeneath, said platform having an aperture of front-to-rear dimension slightly greater than the corresponding dimension of articles to be dispensed, leading to said chute, merchandise magazine means mounted above said platform but offset from said aperture for holding stacked articles of merchandise to be dispensed, a carriage generally uniform in width from front to rear, formed by side, front, and rear walls to height nearly corresponding with the vertical thickness of the articles to be dispensed, said side walls being straight, and at least one of the front and rear walls being angular along a distance in accordance with the corresponding dimension off the articles to be dispensed, to support said articles, said carriage being slidable over said platform and under such stacked articles, and mechanism pivotally connected directly to said carriage for sliding it to move the lowermost stacked article until it registers with and drops through said aperture into said chute, said moved article being replaced by another stacked article directly thereabove and which then rests on said carriage until the latter is returned for a repetition of the operation.

2. A vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein the carriage has side walls braced by a partition extending therebetween.

3. A vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein the magazine means is disposed vertically, the carriage is formed by side and front and rear walls having intermediate portions offset toward one another distances corresponding with the corresponding dimension of the articles to be dispensed, leaving hollow arms the top edges of which initially engage articles to be dispensed and in which legs of the magazine means are to alternately fit as the carriage is moved back and forth therebeneath, and the pivotal connection is to the offset part of the front of the carriage for sliding the same.

4. A vending machine as recited in claim y1, wherein the magazine means is disposed vertically, said front and rear carriage portions are formed as webs connecting lower edges of said side Walls, intermediate parts of said Webs being offset upward to about the level of the top edges of said side walls to form supporting shelves for said stacks of articles and the pivotal connection is to the offset part of the front of the carriage ttor sliding the same.

5. A vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein the mechanism `for carriage sliding comprises a igear disposed Aforwardly of said magazine, pivoted about a vertical axis, a coin-controlled gear turnable about a horizontal axis, meshing with the first-mentioned gear and turnable from the front of the machine, and a link with its rear end portion pivoted to said connecting means and its front end portion pivoted to the top face of said first-mentioned gear.

6. A vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein the magazine is of the dual type for holding a first stack of articles of merchandise near the back of the machine and a second stack of such articles spaced forwardly thereof a distance slightly Kgreater than the corresponding dimension of articles to be dispensed, the carriage is slidable over the platform and under both of said stacks for dispensing articles from first one stack and then the other, and the mechanism is to alternately move the lowermost article of the rearward of said stacks forward until it drops through said aperture into said chute and the lowermost article of the forward of said stacks rearward until it drops through said aperture into said chute, and said moved articles are replaced by the articles directly thereabove in said stacks.

7. A vending machine as recited in claim 6, wherein the magazine comprises side walls intermediate portions of which are formed to define Iguides about as wide as the platform aperture, for the two stacks of articles, and said guides being completed by flanges extending inwardly toward one another at the front and a wall at the rear.

8. A vending machine as recited in claim 1, wherein empty lock lever means is :pivoted on a portion of the carriage and provided with a depending portion to lock over an edge of a portion of said supporting platform portion when not held up by an engaged article.

9. A vending machine comprising a supporting platform, a merchandise delivery chute therebeneath, said platform having an aperture of fronttorear dimension slightly greater than the corresponding dimension of articles to be dispensed, leading to said chute, merchandise magazine means mounted above said platform but offset from said aperture for holding stacked articles of merchandise to be dispensed, a carriage slidable over said platform and under such stacked articles, and mechanism comprising connecting means at the front of said carriage, a gear disposed forwardly of said magazine means, pivoted about a vertical axis and with an aperture displaced from said axis, an empty lock lever pivoted intermediate its ends beneath said gear and with a lug adjacent one end which may upstand into locking engagement in said gear aperture, and means effecting such engagement when there is no article in place to be dispensed, a coin-controlled gear turnable about a horizontal axis, meshing with the first-mentioned ygear and turnable from the front orf the machine, and a link with its rear end portion pivoted to said connecting means and its front end portion pivoted to the top face of said lfirst-mentioned Igear for sliding said carriage to move the lowermost stacked article until it registers with and drops through said aperture into said chute, said moved article being replaced by another stacked article directly thereabove and which then rests on said carriage until the latter is returned to allow it to drop onto the platform for a repetition of the operation.

`10. A vending machine comprising a supporting platform, a merchandise delivery chute therebeneath, said platform having an aperture through which articles are to be dispensed, leading to said chute, merchandise malgazine means mounted above said platform for holding stacked articles of merchandise to be dispensed, a carriage slidable over said platform and under such stacked articles, and mechanism for sliding said carriage to move the lowermost stacked article until it registers with and drops through said aperture into said chute, said moved article being replaceable by another stacked article directly thereabove and which then rests on said carriage until the latter is returned for a repetition of the operation, said mechanism comprising connecting means at the front of said carriage, a -gear disposed forwardly of said magazine means, pivoted about a vertical axis and with an aperture displaced from said axis, an empty lock lever 9 pivoted intermediate its ends beneath said gear and with a lug adjacent one end which may upstand into locking engagement in said gear aperture, and means effecting such engagement when there is no article in place to be dispensed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,395,9411 111/1921 Beattie 221-117 1,939,127 12/'119'3'3 Martin et a1 221--2164 X 10 2,339,391 1/ 1944 Gabrielsen 221-3`12 X 1 0 2,3 80,093 7 1945 Wilder 1-- 221-1-8 2,700,586 1/ 1955 Shepherd 221--268 X 3,010,607 11/ 1961 Probasco 221-116 X FOREIGN PATENTS 727,558 3/1962 France.

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. XJR.

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