US3708087A

US3708087A - Newspaper dispenser

Info

Publication number: US3708087A
Application number: US00077184A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Schonthal
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-10-01
Filing date: 1970-10-01
Publication date: 1973-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-02

Abstract

A machine for dispensing publications one at a time. The machine is coin operated and is capable of dispensing newspapers from a stack which can be loaded in bulk. The newspapers are biased away from the dispensing outlet by holddown members, an inclined support and side grippers. The publication contacting assembly is driven by forces directed along parallel lines inclined upwardly from the horizontal. The pusher plate follows the newspaper contour. It is preferably entirely mechanical but could include an electrical drive system.

Description

United States Patent 7 11 1 Schonthal 1 51 Jan. 2, 1973 [s41 NEWSPAPER DISPENSER I 1,946,183 2/1934 Williamson ..'......221/244 76 I 1,590,925 '6/l926 Campbell 1 Invent 3mg ":E';' Z 2"g$g 1,817,740 8/1931 Dunn. 221/271 a 9270s Primary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg Filedl v 09L 1970 Assistant Examiner-Francis J. Bartuska [21] APP] No; 77,184 Attorney-Fowler, Knobbe & Martens r 157] ABSTRACT [52] U.S.Cl. ..221/l10,22l/l55,221/24i,

221/244 22 25 27 221/272 A machme for dlspensmg publlcauons one at a time. [51] Int.Cl ..L ...G07i 11/22 The machine is coin, Operated and is capable 58 Field of Search ..22l/155,268, 272, 274, 244, dispensing p p from a Stack which can bc 22l/l9l, 194, 195, 241, 251, 110, 14 loaded in bulk. The newspapers are biased away from r the dispensing outlet by holddown members, an [56] References Cited inclined support and side grippers. The publication a contacting assembly is driven by fbrces directed along UNITED STATES PATENTS I parallel lines inclined upwardly from the horizontal. 2,180,326 11/1939 Traversy ..194/68 The Pusher Plate follows h newspaper contour- It is 2,576,636 11/1951 Opgenorth ..221/40 preferably entirely mechanical but could include an 2,926,814 3/1960 Utiger ..221/25l X electrical drive system. 2,501,434 3/1950 Cameron... -.221/155 a 3,114,475 l2/1963 Etes ..22l/l55 X 31 Claims, 11 DlIWillg Figures PATENTED JAN 2 I975 'SHEET 1 OF 5 w w 2% N 22 prw [P7 MW P,

FIG? 3 INVENTOR. 0/4100 scHOA/T A BY FOM/L 0, A/A/OBEE PATENTEU 2 I973 SHEET 5 OF 5 M m m w W mm my 5 M 2a m f? V AA WM Wm 3 a y m f w NEWSPAPER DISPENSER DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION This invention relates to machines for dispensing publications and more specifically to a coin operated machine for dispensing newspapers one at a time.

There is a great need presently for commercially feasible newspaper dispensing mechanisms which are capable of receiving a stacked supply of newspapers and dispensing the newspapers one at a time from the stacked supply without jamming or damaging the newspaper and without dispensing more than a single newspaper for any one payment received. The device must be coin activated from without and must be capable of being adjusted to suitably dispense single newspapers of various thicknesses. For example, the daily newspaper is normally much thinner than the multipage Sunday newspaper for most newspaper com-- panies. Additionally, such a device should be capable of dispensing magazines and other such publications. There is no suitable device presently available for receiving a stack of publications and dispensing them one at a time.

As newspapers increase in cost, the need for prevention of pilfering them from the standard racks is steadily increasing. It is generally believed that there is about a percent loss on the average for newspaper distributors who use standard racks. At the increased cost of newspapers this loss can become a significant percentage of the distributors operation costs.

The dispensing mechanism must be easy to maintain and economical to produce in order to compete with standard newspaper racks available and to provide trouble free operation. The dispensing mechanism must also be capable of being filled rapidly with newspapers or magazines by an unskilled individual and must be simple to adjust for the newspaper thickness according to the number of pages and the coins which are to be received in payment for the newspapers.

This invention is directed to a device for dispensing publications one at a time which comprises a means for supporting a stack of publications; means defining a discharge outlet for the publications; means for biasing the publications in the stack away from the discharge outlet and means for activating a pusher mechanism for removing the uppermost publication from the stack and transferring it to the discharge outlet.

The device is essentially a publication transfer mechanism which is housed in an attractive cabinet and which is capable of receiving a stack of publications. The device also includes a thickness adjusting assembly for adjusting the transfer mechanism to remove uppermost publications of various thicknesses from the stack and transfer them to the outlet.

Multimember biasing means are provided for retain- The device of this invention also includes a downward pressure applying member or holddown members which may essentially comprise a plurality of finger-like gripping members which rest on the uppermost publication in the stack and are biased downwardly by gravity. These members, in one embodiment, are movable vertically so that immediately after the uppermost publication is removed from the stack they fall into holddown relationship with the next lower publication in the stack. The members are preferably arranged so that the holddown force becomes distributed over a greater area on the surface of the uppermost publication as the publication begins moving from the stack.

The device of this invention also provides means for producing simultaneous, equidistant, spaced movement in the same general direction of the activator for the publication contacting assembly and the publication contacting assembly regardless of the height of the stack of publications. This simultaneous, equidistant, generally codirectional movement produces dispensing movement of v the publication contacting assembly along lines which are parallel and the same relation with the stack supporting surface regardless of the height above the stack supporting surface. The publication contacting assembly is moved from a home to an extended dispensing position by the force, but its lower edge follows the contour of the newspapers in the stack. This prevents jamming of the device regardless of the number of publications remaining in the stack.

It has been found that best results are obtained if there is a vertically acting force vector for the dispensing action which slightly lifts the holddown members from the stack as the uppermost publication is initially being moved from the stack. This is accomplished by maintaining the dispensing movement along lines inclined at least 10 from the horizontal. Best results have been obtained for inclinations of 10 to 25. For the line of dispensing movement with a 17 angle of inclination of the support surface, an angle of inclination of about 14 is preferred. The difference in the angle of movement of the publication contacting assembly and the angle of the support surface is necessary due to the difference in thickness of the folded edge of a publication and the free edges. It has been found with newspapers for example the inclination of 40 inch stack varies from 1 to 4. v

The side gripping members may be biased inwardly against the publications in the stackand may have rotatable wheels thereon for gripping and .moving downwardly with little friction over the next publication into position gripping the second and third publications after the uppermost publication has been removed.

One feature of the dispensing machine of this invention is that it can be constructed at. a relatively low cost.

Another feature of the machine of this invention is that it can be loaded in bulk and dispense publications one at a time from a stack of publications and the machine can be easily adjusted to dispense publications of various thicknesses.

Another feature of this machine is that it requires lit-, tle maintenance and due to its construction repairs from normal wear are inexpensive.

- personnel.

These and other unique and advantageous features of the dispensing machine of this invention will become more readily apparent from a consideration of the following detailed discussion and appended claims when taken with the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dispensing machine showing the cabinet therefor;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the dispensing machine of FIGS. 1 and 2 taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial vertical transverse sectional view of the rear portion of the dispensing mechanism taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the publication contacting assembly showing a home position in phantom lines and an extended position in solid lines;

FIG. 6 is a somewhat diagrammatic operational view of the actuating mechanisms of the dispenser machine of this invention;

FIG. 7 is another partial, vertical, longitudinal, sectional mirror view of the dispensing machine taken substantially along line 77 of FIG. 2 showing the drive actuator arm in depressed position in phantom lines;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the display compartment rear wall, newspaper locators and trap door;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partially sectioned view of the pusher drive pulley and slider arrangement;

FIG. l0 is an enlarged plan view of the pusher drive pulley; and

FIG. 11 is an oblique view of a pusher mechanism constructed in accordance with another embodiment of my invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the dispensing machine of this invention generally comprises an attractive cabinet having a newspaper discharge opening 12 therein with a paper dispensing surface 14 extending therefrom. Flange-like stop members 16 may be provided on the paper dispensing support 14 for stopping the publication in a reasonably accessible position. A slot 18 may be provided for facilitating removal of the newspaper or publication from the support surface 14. While the device of this invention is believed to'be usable for dispensing any multipage publications such as magazines and booklets for purposes of convenience it will be discussed in detail primarily with respect to the dispensing of newspapers.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the device also includes a framed display compartment 20 for displaying the newspapers that are placed therein to be dispensed and sold as the last item. An appropriate see through protective front such as the transparent window 21 shield the display compartment 20. An activator arm dispensing handle 22 protrudes from the front wall 24 of the device in a vertically extending slot 26. A pair or more of coin slots are provided, such as slots 28, for receiving coins of various denominations in payment for the newspapers to be dispensed.

The cabinet of the device in the embodiment illustrated is provided with a partial right side wall 32, a partial top wall 34, full left side wall 33 and bottom wall 35 (see FIG. 2). A two piece hinged door member 36 is shown mounted to the partial top wall 34 by means of hinges 38. The hinged door member 36 comprises a partial side wall portion 40 and a partial top wall portion 42 joined by means of a hinge 44 which is mounted on the inner surface so as not to be visible when the two piece door 36 is in its closed position. An appropriate locking mechanism 48 may be provided in the side wall 32 as shown in FIG. 1.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, it is shown in phantom lines that the partial side wall 40 folds back on the partial top wall 42 when the door 36 is opened. Since these walls are connected by hinge 44 they can fold down flatly on top of each other to form a table above partial top wall 34. This may be used to straighten a stack of newspapers prior to loading the machine.

With reference now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 which show the interior of the machine, it will be seen that the newspapers 50 are supported in a stack which is inclined rearwardly away from the discharge opening 12 by means of an inclined support surface 52 located at the rear half of the machine and mounted by suitable brackets 53 to the machine frame. A forward slide support surface or ramp 54 inclines downwardly and is slightly spaced in front of the support surface 52. The inclined support surface 54 may be a stepped configuration having a downward step 56 connecting it with the discharge support platform 14 of the machine. The chute 54 may be a stamping and can be a straight fiat surface or may be a smooth curved surface or may be formed as a funnel to form a smooth funnel for discharging the newspapers. The

surfaces

52 and 54 are mounted on suitable vertical frame members such as

vertical members

60, 61 and 62 shown in FIG. 3.

In general the frame of the machine as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises a plurality of vertical support members and horizontal support members to form a box-like framework within the machine cabinet. The frame mounts vertically extending newspaper side alignment and guide members which include a pair of spaced angle rails 63 and 64 (FIG. 2) which are mounted through the spacers 63' and 64' to the

horizontal rails

71 and 73 and extend vertically to abut opposite side edges of the newspaper stack. Also ,in cluded are a pair of opposed vertically extending, side guides 67 and 68. The angle rails 63 and 64'assure proper initial alignment of the newspapers in the stack and the side guides 67 and 68 prevent twisting of a newspaper as it is being dispensed. Both the rails and the side guides may be made so that they can be adjusted to change their spacing to accommodate wider or narrower newspapers than the standard size. Additionally the side guides may be formed with the dispenser outlet upper and lower chutes in a funnel-like arrangement.

With continued reference now to FIGS. 2 and 3 and with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the structure of the pusher mechanism for removing newspapers from this machine will be discussed. A pair of vertically extending

support members

65 and 66, as best shown in FIG. 4, mount the horizontally extending upper frame member 71 and lower frame member 73 the same way as the

angles

63 and 64 are mounted. A pair of

sliders

74 and 75 are also mounted on the inwardly facing sides of the

members

65 and 66 respectively. The

sup port members

65 and 66 may be angle irons, wooden studs or other suitable type support members. A crossbar 76 extends between the sliders. The

sliders

74 and 75 are preferably conventional ball bearing type sliders having

rail track portions

80 and 80 and

slide members

82 and 82 for moving on the ball bearings vertically within the track portions, as best shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the crossbar 76 is fixedly attached to the

sliders

74 and 75 by means of

appropriate brackets

83 and 84 for vertical movement with the slide members 82 and 82'. Each end of the crossbar 76 is attached to the respective slide in a similar manner.

A pusher assembly head 90 is mounted to the slide members 82 and 82' for vertical movement therewith. The assembly head 90 comprises a base plate 92 which is attached to the crossbar 76 by means of an adjustable support and newspaper thickness control mechanism 94. The adjustable mechanism 94 comprises a body 96, as best shown in FIG. 3, having a threaded aperture therein extending vertically for receiving a knurled bolt 98. The body 96 is bolted or otherwise fixedly con nected to the base plate 92. The lower end of the threaded shank of the bolt 98 extends through and below the crossbar 76 so that the vertical position of the adjustable support and newspaper thickness control 94 can be varied with respect to the crossbar 76. Thus, by turning the bolt 98, it is possible to adjust the relative position of the base plate 92 with respect to the crossbar 76. This relative movement enables the pusher assembly head to dispense newspapers of different thicknesses. The bolt 98 may be of any desired length to make adjustments for newspapers of various thicknesses.

The base plate 92, as best shown in FIG. 4,. is slideably connected by the adjustable assembly 101 to a second elongated crossbar 100. The adjustable assembly 101 for connecting the base plate 92 to the crossbar 100 comprise a pair of vertically extending cylindrical rods 102 and 102' appropriately mounted to extend vertically parallel to the base plate 92 at a spaced distance from the base plate 92. For example, appropriate brackets may be provided, such as brackets 104 at opposite ends of the

bars

102 and 102 to space the bars a small distance from the base plate 92 and permit them to extend vertically parallel to rear surface of the base plate 92. The crossbar 100 is fitted with appropriate sleeves 106 and 106 which have an orifice extending therethrough with bearings therein for frictionally engaging the rods 102 and 102' and permitting some vertical movement of the base plate 92 with respect to the crossbar 100 by sliding the sleeves 106 and 106 vertically along the vertically extending

rods

102 and 102 for adjusting it for different thicknesses of newspapers as will be explained.

The crossbar is also mounted by means of

brackets

108 and 108 to the slide members 82 and 82'. Since both the small crossbar 76 and the large crossbar 100 are mounted by brackets to the sliders 82 and 82' they are fixed in vertical spacing from each other. The crossplate 92, however, since it is mounted to both the crossbars by adjustable means can be adjusted in spacing vertically with respect to the crossbar 100. Any

type of mounting arrangement which enables the described relative movement between the base plate 92 and the slide members 82 and 82' can be used provided that they have appropriate control mechanisms for controlling the adjustment. The significance of this adjustment will be discussed later.

The crossbar 100, as best shown in FIG. 5 supports a generally L-shaped bracket 109 which has a rearwardly extending upper leg forming a platform 110 which forms an acute angle with the lower leg 111. The lower leg 111, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, may be appropriately welded to the crossbar 100, molded thereto or otherwise affixed thereto in. conventional manner. The upper leg or platform 110 of the bracket is slightly inclined to the horizontal so that V the difference between the inclination of the support member 52 and the platform 110 will compensate for the slope of a newspaper stack caused by the thicker folded portions. Preferably the platform 110 is inclined by about 2-4 less than the support member 52 since this has been found to compensate for most newspaper stack slopes. A stop block 113 (FIG. 4) is provided for contacting leg 111 and defining the lowermost position of the head 90.

The crossbar 100 supports another slider 112 (FIG. 5) which is similar to the

sliders

74 and 76 in that it contains a slide track 114 and a slideable bearing mounted slide member 116 for sliding within the track. The slider assembly 112 is fixedly mounted on the platfonn 110, as by appropriate bolts and nuts, and is inclined to the horizontal at the same angle asthe platform 110.

The slide member 116 has mounted thereon a newspaper pusher mechanism or publication contacting assembly 118. The publication contacting assembly 118 comprises an upper substantially rectangular flat plate 120 and a depending substantially rectangular flat hinge-mounted pusher plate 122 having a rectangular opening in the upper portion thereof and a straight lower edge 123 which has a rounded rear surface (see also FIG. 6). The upper plate 120 is attached to the slide member 116 by means of the hinges 124 and is normally biased by gravity into a non-pivoted position on the slide member 116 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. The upper plate 120 and the pusher plate 122 are connected to each other by means of a pair of hinges 126 and 126' (see FIG. 6). The hinges permit relative pivotal movement between a right angle closed position and an obtuse angle open position. While a pair of hinges 126 and 126' are shown, it should be clear that any number of hinges or any means which would permit relative movement pivotally of the two plates with respect to each other and the upper plate with respect to the slide member 116 can be used.

The pusher plate 122, as shown in FIG. 5, is connected to the slide member 116 'by resilient biasing means such as the helical spring 130 attached at one end to a depending pin 131 on the slide member 116 and at the other end to an appropriate hook 132 on the pusher plate 122 for biasing the pusher plate to its closed right angle position with respect to the upper plate 120 of the publication contacting member 118 and for limiting the obtuse opening angle.

The slide member 116 is normally biased into its home position on the track 114, as shown by the phantom lines of FIG. 5, by means of a resilient biasing means such as the helical coil spring 133 so that the slide member 116 will always be returned to the home position shown in phantom lines from an extended position shown in solid lines in FIG. 5. The spring 133 is attached at opposite ends to an appropriate hook or pin 134 mounted on the track 114 and a similar hook or pin 136 mounted on the slide member 116. It should be clear of course that any portion of the sliding assembly, i.e., the slide member 116 and the publication contacting assembly 118 could be connected to the resilient biasing means 133 for returning the assembly to its home position.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the base plate 92 has a central rectangular cutout portion for permitting movement of the publication contacting assembly 118 and the slide 116 therethrough. The slider track 114 extends from the support platform 110 through the central cutout portion of the base plate 92 as shown in FIGS. and 6.

NEWSPAPER BIASING MEMBERS In addition to the rearward biasing of the newspapers provided by the inclined lower support member 52, the vertically movable pusher assembly head 90 carries gravitational and spring operated newspaper biasing members for maintaining the papers in the stack.

The base plate 92 fixedly mounts four forwardly extending holddown members or biasing fingers 140, as best shown in FIG. 6. The members 140 basically are L- shaped comprising an upper vertically extending leg 142 and a lower leg 144 which forms an acute angle with the upper leg 142. The lower surface of the leg 144 is flat for contacting the upper newspaper 50 on the stack as shown in FIG. 3. The angle between the lower leg 144 and the upper leg 142 is the same as the angle of the bracket 109 so that the lower legs 144 extend substantially parallel to the platform 110. While four of the holddown members 140 are shown in FIG. 6, any desired number of these members can be used to apply a downward pressure to the newspapers in the stack. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 6, downwardly biased pressure applying holddown members 146 may be provided on both sides of the outer holddown members 140. The members 146 may be biased downwardly by appropriate springs to help apply additional downward pressure to the newspapers in the stack. For example the helical coil springs 148 may be used (see FIG. 2'). One end of the spring is connected to the upper arm of the pivotal downwardly biased finger 146 and the other end is connected to the horizontally extending arm 144 of the holddown member 140 to bias the finger 146 downwardly into contact with the newspapers of the stack. A stop (not shown) may be provided so that the small fingers 146 do not pivot too far forwardly. The downwardly biased holddown fingers 146 are mounted pivotally by means of appropriate screws or bolts and nuts which pass through the holddown members 144 and define pivotal axis or may be mounted by other suitable means for pivotal movement about a pivotal axis. These pivot fingers distribute the holddown force over a larger surface area as the top newspaper is initially being withdrawn and pivot forwardly to engage the second newspaper as the first is pushed out from under them.

A pair of newspaper side gripping units 150 and 150', which also function to bias the newspapers in the stacked position away from the dispenser outlet, are mounted at the opposite ends of the crossbar as best shown in FIG. 6. These side gripping members comprise rectangular arms 152 and 152' which are hingedly mounted to the crossbar 100 by means of

hinges

154 and 154. The opposite ends of the arms 152 and 152' each mount a pair of side pressure applying followers 156 and 156'. These followers are held in place and made vertically adjustable by means such as the blocks, 160 and 160' which are mounted by means of

bolts

162 and 162 to the end portion of the

arms

152 and 152. Preferably the pressure applying followers 156 and 156' are vertically spaced from each other. While one or two followers 156 are shown on each side of the pusher more couldbe used if desirable. Additionally the vertical adjustment of the followers 156 and 156' is only made once after the machine is assembled.

In the embodiment shown, each of the side pressure applying followers 156 and 156' has an upper support shaft 164 which mounts a spiked wheel 166 in a slot at the lower end thereof by means of a crosspin so that the wheels 166 can rotate within the slots in the shafts 164 and 164' about the crosspins. Thus the shafts can easily be moved up and down vertically along the opposite sides of the newspapers without excessive frictional resistance because of rotation of the wheels 166. The spurred or spiked edges of the wheels 166 grip the second and third newspapers in the stack. Any means for applying side pressure to the newspapers in the stack is suitable. However, the specific embodiment shown has proved to be very effective in holding the second and third newspapersin the stack by applying inward pressure to the side edges of the newspapers to maintain them in position while the upper newspaper is removed from the stack.

Resilient biasing means such as the coil springs 168' (FIGS. 2 and 6) may be provided for biasing the side

pressure applying units

150 and 150 inwardly toward the newspapers in the stack. For example, the springs 168 can be attached to the lower legs 144 of the end holddown members and to the arms 154 on the side pressure applying units and 150 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. Adjustable tensioner member such as the bolts 169 may be provided for preventing the units 150 and 150' from swinging too far into the newspaper stack and for adjusting the tension with which the bolts 169 engage the stack.

VERTICAL ASSEMBLY LATCH The short crossbar 76 is provided with a central through extending aperture 170, as shown in FIG. 4, for receiving a latch member 172 which is mounted on one of the upper cross-frames 71 of the machine frame. The latch member 172 pivots about a pivot pin 174 and is biased into a vertical position against a stop 175 by a spring 176. In this fashion the entire pusher assembly head 90 and one of the slide members 82 and 82' including the biasing members, can be raised to the top of the machine and held in position by the latch member 172. The stop 175 maintains the latch 172 in its vertical position.

NEWSPAPER THICKNESS ADJUSTMENTS A newspaper thickness indicator arm 180 is also mounted on the longer crossbar 100 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. This indicator arm is connected to the base plate 92 by means of a pin 182 about which the arm 180 can rotate. The outer end of the arm 180 is slotted to receive another pin or screw 184 which is mounted on a vertically fixed support arm member mounted on the crossbar 100 by means such as bolts 185 (FIG. 4). If the crossbar 100 is moved vertically relative to the base plate 92 this causes rotation of the arm 180. The opposite end of the arm 180 is formed in the shape of an arrowhead pointer 186 and points to a series of arcuate graduations 187 placed on the support base 92 (FIG. 6). These graduations may be for example in terms of newspaper thickness expressed in pages. As the crossbar 100 is moved relative to thesupport base 92 the thickness of the newspaper for which the pusher is set can be determined from the position of the pointer on the arm 180 and the graduation at which it is set. The thickness of the paper which will be dispensed is determined by the spacing between the vertical positions of the lower surface of the legs 144 of holddown members 140 and the lower edge 123 of the pusher plate 122. These relative positions are vertically determined by the relative positions of the base plate 92 and theslide members respectively.

DRIVE ACTUATOR Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 7, it will be seen that the framework of the machine also supports a drive actuator 188 which is a two-pieced arm-like member pivotally mounted about an eccentric pivotal axis at one end thereof. The upper arm 190 (see FIG. 7) is shorter than the lower arm 191 of the actuator and is hinge mounted to the lower arm by the hinge 192. The rearward end of the upper member 190 is pivotally mounted about means such as the pivotal axis defining bolt 194 to the vertical frame member 196 of the frame of the machine. The bolt 194 forms a pivot axis for the drive actuator 188.

The lower drive actuator arm 191 is connected to the handle 22 which extends forward of the wall 24 through the slot 26 of the machine. The lower actuator member 191 also pivotally mounts a substantially L- shaped pivotal latch and connector bar 200 having an upper leg 201 and a lower leg 202, by means of a pivot pin 203. The latch and connector bar 200 is biased by a coil spring 204 against a stop member 206 mounted on the lower actuator arm 191. The upper leg 201 of the latch and connector bar 200 is provided with a slot 210 which fits over a latch pin 212 mounted on the upper bar 190 to latch the upper and lower bars together for pivotal motion about the pivot pin 194. A latch release block 214 is mounted on another of the structural support elements 216 as best shown in FIG. 7. The eccentricity of the pivotal axis 194 of the drive actuator 188,

assists in unlatching the mechanism 200 by applying forward pressure at hinge 194 on the lower arm as the hinge begins to open. This moves the latch bar 200 forward and clear of the pin 212.

The upper activating arm is spring biased upwardly by means of a return coil spring 250 which extends between a horizontal cross-piece frame member 251 and an appropriate pin 253 on the arm 190. The lower actuator arm 191 is also biased upwardly by means of the return coil spring 252 between the horizontally extending frame member and the forward end of the arm 191.

COIN MECHANISM The coin mechanism of this machine may be any of the conventional mechanisms available. In a preferred embodiment, however, the lower actuator bar 191 carries a pair or more of coin operated. latch members such as latch bars 220 and 222 which are pivotally mounted on

pivot pins

224 and 226 respectively. Each of these coin operated latch bars 220 and 222 is shaped practically identically in that it has a thick camming surface of curved configuration, such as surface 228, centrally located on the forward edge of the latch member 220 and a notch generally shown as 230 on the upper end of the forward edge of the latch member 220 for engaging a latch pin, such as pin 232, which is' mounted on another upright frame member 234 of the machine. The frame member 234 also mounts a dummy coin 236 by means of a pair of

pivotal arms

238 and 240. The arms are connected by means of a pivot pin 242 and the lower arm 238 is also mounted near its midpoint on a second pivot pin 244 which is fixed to the frame member 234. Rearward movement of the upper coin dummy pivot arm 240 causes the coin dummy 236 to move counterclockwise out of contact with the camming surface 228 of the latch bar 220 and forward movement of the arm 240 causes rearward movement of the coin dummy 236 into contact with the camming surface 228 of the latch member.

A pair of

coin chutes

254 and 256 extend forwardly toward the front wall 24 of the machine from a position adjacent the latch bars 220 and 222, respectively, for receiving coins of various denominations. The camming surface 228 is of sufficient thickness to en gage either the coin dummy 236 when it is properly positioned, or a coin received by the chute 254. A larger coin dummy 255 which operates identical to the coin dummy 236 is adapted to contact the camming surface of the latch 222 in similar manner. Thus latches 220 and 224 can be cammed out of latching position either by a coin in the respective chute or by the coin dummy and the actuator arm can be moved into its phantom line position as shown in FIG. 7. For example, coin chute 254 may be for a dime and chute 256 may be for a quarter. As set in FIG. 7, the mechanism is set for operation by a dime. Any number of coin chutes may be provided. A pair of coin receptacle chutes 257 extend below the

coin chutes

254 and 256. The receptacle chutes communicate with a removable coin box 258.

DISPLAY COMPARTMENT Referring again to FIG. 3 and to FIG. 8, it will be seen that the display compartment 20 is formed basically by a transparent front window 259 in the front wall 24 and a spaced rear wall 260. The rear wall 260 mounts a pair of newspaper locator blocks 261 and 262. The locator 261 is short and has an inwardly sloped upper edge for facilitating the insertion of a newspaper into the display compartment 20. A bottom trap door 263 is hingedly mounted to the newspaper locator blocks 261 and 262 by means of the hinges 264. Any suitable number of hinges 264 can be used. The trap door 263 is maintained in a horizontal display newspaper supporting position by means of a pair of rods 264 which extend rearwardly from the trap door 263. A pair of notched

latch members

266 and 268 are pivotally mounted on the rear wall 260 of the display compartment, as best shown in FIG. 6, and hold up the trap door 263 by engaging the rods 264 in the latch notches. Latch 266 carries a rearwardly extending tab 270 at the lowermost end thereof for a reason which will be discussed. The

latch members

266 and 268 are biased into a latching or vertical position by means such as the coil springs 272 which are also attached to the rear wall 260 of the display compartment. The trap door 263 may be biased to the open position by means of gravity and such as coil spring 273. A resetting arm 275 may be provided on the trap door for enabling it to be easily reset.

As best shown in FIG. 6, a manually operable latch key 274 may be provided for enabling easy removal of the display newspaper when the machine is being unloaded. The latch key 274 is slidlingly mounted to the back side of the display compartment rear wall 260 as by appropriate tracks or slots in the key. The key 274 is biased away from the

latches

266 and 268 by appropriate springs (not shown) and a rod push button activator 276 may beprovided for releasing the trap door quickly by pushing the activator 276 inwardly. The activator 276, for example, may be a bolt which extends through a frame member within the cabinet.

ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR DISPENSING Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, it will be seen that the drive actuator assembly 188 is drivingly connected to the pusher assembly head 90 through an actuating drive train (FIG. 6) which comprises: a pulley 280 rotatably mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis on an appropriate bolt 281 on the upper arm 190 of the actuator 188; a second pulley 282 which is rotatably mounted on a suitable rod 283 connected to a portion of the frame of the machine (not shown); and a shaft drive pulley 284 which is provided with a square central bore 286 for receiving a square shaft 288. The square shaft 288 is cylindrical at its opposite ends and is journaled in appropriate bushings, such as bushing 289, which are suitably connected to the machine frame. The shaft drive pulley 284 is fixed in position on the bar 288 so that rotation of the shaft drive pulley 284 causes rotation of the bar 288. For example, the pulley 284 may be fastened to the shaft as by welding or with an appropriate retaining ring or with a set screw or it may be integrally a part of the shaft.

The pulley 284 also receives one end of an actuation cord or wire cable or other suitable rope-like connector cable 290. The connector cable 290 also passes over the pulley 282 and under the pulley 280. The opposite end of the connector cable 290 is affixed to a stroke adjuster and tensioner 292 mounted on the machine frame. For example, the stroke adjuster and tensioner may be an eyebolt and wing nut which pass through a bore in a frame member. This may be affixed to one of the upper horizontally extending frame members.

The square shaft 288 also mounts for rotation therewith a vertically movable pusher drive'pulley 296 as follows. The pulley 296 is fixedly mounted on a square bored bushing or extended integrally connected hub 297 which extends below the pulley 296 and vertically slides on the shaft 288 and rotates with the shaft 288.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 9, the hub 297 fits through a sleeve 298 on a bracket 299 which is connected to slider assembly 300 for enhancing vertical movement and positioning of the pulley 296. A retainer ring such as the shaft collar 301 fits about the hub 297 and prevents the hub from slipping out of the sleeve 298. The hub 297 is free to rotate within the bracket sleeve 298.

While a square shaft has been used, it should be clear that any arrangement which enables the pulley 296 to rotate with the shaft but move vertically on the shaft can be used. For example the shaft 288 can be a cylindrical shaft and the pusher drive pulley may be mounted on a ball bushing which permits vertical movement but not rotational movement of the shaft and pulley. With such an arrangement the slider 300 is not needed.

The pusher drive pulley 296 also receives one end of a pusher drive actuator cord or cable 302 as by inserting a knot in the cable through an appropriate slot in the pulley. The pusher drive cable 302 has its opposite end connected to the slide member 116, as for example, the cable 302 may be knotted and passed through a hole in a tab 303 on the slide member 116 (see FIG. 5). Otherwise, the cable 302 may be attached by any appropriate means to the slide member 116 so that when the pulley 296 is rotated by rotation of the square shaft 288, the cable 302 is wound around the pulley 296 thereby causing the slide member 1 16 to move forward into an extended newspaper dispensing position as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 5. Thus, actuation of the drive actuator arm 188 through the cable 290 rotates the shaft drive pulley 284 and thus the square shaft 288. This in turn rotates the pusher drive pulley 296 and winds the pusher drive cord 302 around the pulley 296 drawing the slide member 116 and the publication contacting assembly 118 forward to dispense a newspaper from the stack.

PUSI-IER AND PUSHER ACTUATOR ALIGNMENT It is essential during the actuation step that the pulley 296 always be the same distance above the pusher slide member 116. This alignment enables the pusher actuation to always be along a set of parallel lines defined by the relative vertical positions of the pulley 296 and the slide member 116.

Preferably the angle with the horizontal formed by the cable 302 should be up to 25 greater than the angle of inclination of the slide track 114. If the cable 302 is inclined less the slide track 114, there is insufficient initial upward force vector for relieving some of the downward biasing force of the holddown fingers 140. If the angle of inclination is greater than 25, the vertical force vector is too great and the entire pusher assembly 90 is lifted too high to be effective. The continuous vertical spacing is accomplished by means of an adjustable leveling system of the invention. Both the pusher assembly head 90 and the pusher drive pulley 296 are members of a closed loop formed by appropriate alignment cords or

cable connectors

304 and 305. The connector 304 is attached to the bracket 299. The connector 304 may be connected to the bracket 299 by means such as the offset tab 308 by passing the connector through a hole in the tab and knotting the connector cable or it may appropriately be tack welded. The connector 304 then passes under a pulley 310 and upwardly over a second direction changing pulley 312. The pulleys are mounted for rotation on a rod extending from appropriate frame members (not shown) of the machine. The connector 304 then passes over still a third, similarly mounted, pulley 314 and is connected through a tension adjuster such as the turnbuckle 316 to an appropriate eyelet 317 mounted on the short cross member 76 as best shown in FIG. 4.

Continuing with the description of the closed, vertical spacing loop it will be seen that the large crossbar 100 also by means of an appropriate eyelet or bolt 318 is connected to one end of the other cord 305 through another tension adjuster, such as the turnbuckle 319. The cord 305 then passes downwardly and under a pulley 320 (see FIG. 6) which is also appropriately mounted for rotation on the frame of the machine. The cord 305 then passes upwardly and over another pulley 322 which again is appropriately mounted on the framework for rotation. The cord 305 then passes over a third pulley 324 which again is mounted for rotation on an appropriate rod mounted on the framework of the dispenser. The opposite end of the cord 305 is then attached to the bracket 299 by means of an appropriate tab, such as tab 326, which is offset from tab 308 to permit free movement of the bracket 299 along the shaft 288.

. The bracket 299 and the entire pusher assembly head 90 including the base plate 92, the

crossbars

76 and 100 and all elements attached thereto, thus become a portion of the closed loop and when one is raised the other is raised, or when one is lowered the other is lowered. Since they are fixed in the closed loop and since they are at opposite sides of a closed loop which has two vertically extending edges, these two members are always in the same relative vertical alignment regardless of the position of the

cords

304 and 305. This enables consistent dependable operation and return of the publication contacting assembly 118 with the slide member 116 regardless of the number of newspapers remaining in the stack.

DISPENSING MECHANISM FOR DISPLAY NEWSPAPER Referring again to FIG. 6 and to FIG. 10, it will be seen that the pulley 296 carries a three-sectioned trap door latch releaseactuator arm 330 pivotally mounted on the hub 331 thereon. The trap door actuator arm 330 comprises a first rounded end section 330a, a central section 33% connected at an angle to the section 330a and a second end section 3300 connected to the opposite end of central section 33% so as to be offset from section 330a. Then arm section 330a is biased to an outwardly extending position by means such as the spring 332 against a stop pin 333. The spring 332 is connected tothe pulley 296 and to the arm section 3300. The arm 330 cooperates with the tab 270 on the latch 266 as will be discussed.

The other feeler latch mechanism 268, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, is connected by means of a cord 334 which passes over a pulley 336, mounted for rotation about a vertical axis at the forward end of the dispenser, and over a pulley 388 which is appropriately mounted for rotation about an inclined axis at the rearward end of the dispenser. From then it passes downward and under a third pulley 340 which is mounted on a pivotal feeler pivot arm 342. The crossbar 100, shown in FIG. 4 may carry a downwardly extending arm 344 which, when there are no papers remaining in the stack, comes into contact with the innermost end of the feeler pivot arm 342 causing a clockwise rotation of the arm downwardly. This in turn pulls downwardly on the cord 334 causing the cord 334 to pull latch 268 toward pulley 336, as shown in FIG. 6, thereby unlatching latch member 268 if no papers are present. The display newspaper is not dispensed from the compartment 20 until the proper coin is received and the drive arm 188 is moved downwardly since latch 266 still holds up the trap door 263. The feeler pivotarm 342 and the depending arm 344 are convenient for signaling that the stack has been depleted. Any sensor arrangement which can sense a single newspaper thickness may be used. For example the stack sensor may be a part of the stop 113 with a position-sensing limit switch arrangement.

When there are no newspapers left in the stack, the pusher drive pulley 296 is at the lower end of the rod 288 and the latch 268 is opened as explained and stays open until the head is lifted from its lowermost position. As the pulley 296, in its lowermost position, is rotated in a pusher driving direction, for example a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 8, the end section 330a contacts the tab 270 on the latch member 266. This moves the latch member away from latching position and opens the latch member 266 holding the trap door 263 in the display compartment (see FIG. 6). The end of 330a is rounded for camming the arm 330 during return past the tab 270 for one-way operation.

Thus, referring to FIG. 3, when the display newspaper is sold, the trap door falls open with the assistance of the downwardly biasing spring and the display newspaper slides down into contact with the dispenser chute 57 and out the dispenser outlet 12. Appropriately, the back wall of the display case may contain the words Sold Out" or other similar language which indicates that there are no further newspapers left to be dispensed in the machine.

LOADING OF THE NEWSPAPER DISPENSER Let us now discuss the loading and operation of the dispensing machine of this invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the distributor or his agent who is to load the machine first unlocks the door comprised of partial side wall 40 and partial top wall 42. Then the walls are folded up, one on top of the other, to form a table above partial top wall 34. If any of yesterdays newspapers remain in the stack, they are removed. If the display newspaper remains the trap door 263 is released by pushing the bolt 276 which moves the manual actuator bar 274 (FIGS. 6 and 8). The trap door 263 is then reset with the handle 275. The entire pusher assembly head 90 (see FIG. 4) is then raised so that latch 172 fits into the opening 170 in the cross bar 76. The latch 172 is biased to the vertical position by the spring 176 and in such position holds the pusher assembly head 90 in the raised position out of the way so that the newspaper stack can be placed on the inclined supporting member 52 and properly arranged between the side guide angle rails 63 and 64.

The pusher assembly head 90 is then lowered by moving the latch 172 out of the way with one finger tip and letting it down slowly so that the fingers 140 rest on the upper newspaper surface and the pusher plate 122 is behind the stack (see FIG. 3).

The newspaper thickness control mechanism 94 is set to correlate with the number of pages in the newspaper by turning the knob 98 of the micrometerlike mechanism 94 thereby setting the dial 180 to the correct page graduation on the newspaper thickness indicator scale. As will be remembered, this controls the vertical spacing between the lower edge of the pusher plate 122 and the lower surface of the leg 144 of the holddown fingers 140. This also assures that the side gripper units 150 and 150' contact the second and third newspapers in the stack since they are also displaced vertically from the holddown members 140 by the newspaper thickness control mechanism 94.

The person who loads the newspaper must also set the coin mechanism to determine whether, for example, a quarter newspaper is to be sold, a dime newspaper is to be sold or other price newspapers are to be sold. This is accomplished by setting the dime dummy 236 or the larger quarter dummy in a camming position. For example, with the setting shown in FIG. 7, a dime newspaper will be sold because the quarter dummy is set in camming relationship with the latch mechanism 222, but the dime dummy 236 is not in camming relationship with the camming surface 228 on the latch mechanism 220. Therefore it is necessary for a dime to come down the chute 254 and cam open the latch 220 so that the actuator handle 22 can be pushed downwardly to dispense a newspaper. Any number of latches and coin chutes may be used depending on the newspaper price.

Once the newspaper thickness has been set, the proper coin setting has been made and the holddown members 140 are resting on the upper paper of the stack, a display newspaper is inserted into the display compartment (the trap door 263 having been reset) and the door 36 is closed and locked. The entire loading operation takes a very short time normally only a minute or two.

DISPENSING OPERATION Now that the machine is in condition for dispensing a newspaper, the actuation of the machine from the time of coin insertion will be discussed. Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that with the quarter dummy in position, a dime is necessary to enable drive actuation of the dispenser. The dime is inserted in the coin chute 254 and its edge contacts the camming surface 228. After the dime has been inserted, the handle 22 may be depressed to the position shown in the phantom lines of FIG. 7. Depression of the actuator handle 22 causes several things to happen. First, the upper drive actuator arm 190 and the lower drive actuator arm 191 pivot as a unit downwardly about the pivot pin 194, the

latch mechanism

220 and 222 being cammed to the open position by the dime in the chute 254 and the dummy quarter.

Pivoting of the

drive actuator arms

190 and 191, referring now to FIG. 6, causes the pulley 280 to move downwardly and to unwind the cable 290 from the square shaft supported shaft drive pulley 284. This in turn rotates the square shaft 288 counterclockwise. Rotation of the square shaft 288 causes counterclockwise rotation of the pusher drive pulley 296 which winds the cable 302 thereon causing the slide member 116 along with the publication contacting assembly 118 to move forward on the slide track 114, this is best shown in FIG. 5. The pusher mechanism 118 is moved by rotation of pusher drive pulley 296 from the phantom line position shown to the left of FIG. 5 to the forward position or extended position shown to the right of FIG. 5. This causes the lower end 123 of the pusher plate 122 to move the uppermost newspaper 50 forwardly to a point where it falls down onto the inclined forward lower wall 54 and out onto the dispensing platform 14. The second and third members of the stack are retained by two forces, one the holddown members which fall down onto the remaining newspapers when the pusher has removed the top newspaper and additionally by the side tension members and 150' which engage the second and lower newspapers of the stack.

As shown in FIG. 3, the newspapers 50 are inclined rearwardly providing some biasing of the newspapers away from the dispensing station 12. Additionally, the actuator cord 302 is not horizontal but slightly inclined from the rear to the forward edge, that is the pusher drive pulley 296 is always maintained at a slightly higher position than the slide member 116. This enables the pusher when moving forward to its extended position to converge slightly toward the lower support member 52. Such movement prevents the newspaper that is being dispensed from slipping below the lower surface of the pusher front surface 122, as best shown in FIG. 5, even though because of the thicker folded portion of the newspaper the stack is shorter near its front edge. The

publication contacting plates

120 and 122 also pivot upwardly at the hinge 124 so that there is not an abrasive high friction digging of the lower edge of the contacting member 122 into the second newspaper in the stack. When the pusher is returned to the home position, shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 5, the hinge 126 permits the plate 122 to pivot upwardly over the next newspaper in the stack without disturbing it.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 7, as the handle 22 is moved downward toward the lowermost phantom position shown in FIG. 7 the pusher is moved from its home position to its extended position as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 5. When the handle 22 reaches the lowermost position pivotal latch bar 200 contacts the latch release block 214 causing the pivotal latch bar 200 to move away from pin 212, thereby releasing the upper arm which is returned to its uppermost position by the return spring 250. When the upper arm 190 is returned, the activator cable 290, as shown in FIG. 6, becomes slack and the pusher return spring 133 returns the slide member 116 to its home position, as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 5, thus rotating the square shaft 288 clockwise. The tension in the spring 133 plus the gravity of the pusher must be sufficiently strong to overcome any frictional resistance to rotation of the shaft 288.

The handle 22 can be held down as long as the purchaser desires but the newspaper will already be dispensed by the action of the upper arm 190 of the drive actuating mechanism and the pusher mechanism 118 will have already been returned to its home position. Consequently, the spring 133 will never be maintained in an extended condition for a long period of time, but will always be quickly returnedinto position for dispensing another paper.

After pressure is released from the handle 22, the return spring 252 returns the lower arm 191 back to its home or upward position as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 7. Latch bar 200 again fits over the pin 212 to hold the lower arm 191 in unitary relationship with the upper arm 190. Additionally, coin

responsive latches

220 and 222 form a locking mechanism which prevents dispensing of a newspaper until the proper coin is again received in coin chute254.

As an additional anti-jamming feature, the actuator arm 188 may be mounted to ratchet as it is depressed so that full movement of the arm must be made before the arm returns to its upward position. This is accomplished in conventional fashion with a vertical rack on the machine frame and a bistable pawl on the actuator arm.

This dispenser can be easily adapted for use with other coin mechanisms and the coin mechanism which has been shown is described herein for purposes of illustration only. For example, the dispenser device of this invention can be used with standard coin mechanisms found now on coin operated newspaper racks. The particular coin receptacles shown herein have been found to be highly satisfactory in operation, however, and can be used commercially. A coin return mechanism may be incorporated in the machine for returning coins of the wrong denomination inserted in the coin chutes.

It has been found that the dispenser mechanism of this invention can be operated very effectively by untrained personnel, that it can receive newspapers in a single stack, the limit being the height which is practical for stack loading. Newspapers varying in pages from 20 to 270 have been successfully dispensed from the apparatus by. means of the simple thickness adjustment without damage to the newspapers or dispensing of more than a single newspaper at a time.

For thinner newspapers from six to.40 pages, it has been found as best shown in FIG. 11, to provide a means for adjusting the angle which the pusher plate lower edge makes withthe surface of the newspapers. This is accomplished by mounting the pusher mechanism head 90 so that it can tilt slightly to the left or right to compensate for tilt of the newspaper stack. This side-to-side tilt of the newspaper stack causedby the center fold of the newspapers only becomes significant for thin newspapers where the tolerance of the thickness adjustment may cause two newspapers to be dispensed if compensation is not made for the tilt. To accomplish this, an outer bearing race 400 is mounted on the vertical sliders 74' and 75

inner race

82 and 82 by appropriate brackets or crossbars. An inner ball bearing race member 402 is free to rotate within the outer race 400. The pusher head including the crossbars 76' and are mounted on the inner race 402. This enables the pusher head 90 to tilt with the side-to-side tilt of the newspaper stack. Stop members may be provided to limit the degree of rotation of the inner race 402.

The dispenser is both low cost to produce and low costto maintain since there are very few moving parts and the prime load bearing parts of the machine are either cords, cables or springs which can easily be replaced at very low cost. The use of the double armed actuator with an eccentric pivot point has been found to reduce the pressure required for dispensing a newspaper such that newspapers can be dispensed with very light pressure. Although a manually operated drive system for the pusher mechanism has been discussed, a push button operated electrical motor system could be employed.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for dispensing multipage publications one at a time comprising:

aframe;

means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications;

a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means;

holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted. to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications; and dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station, said dispensing means comprises a pusher assembly head mountedfor vertical movement adjacent said support means, the head including pusher means mounted for reciprocating dispensing movement from a home position to an extended positionoutwardly from the remainder of the head; said pusher means having a lower edge adapted to be in contact with an edge of the uppermost publication in the stack on said support means so that when said pusher means is extended it moves the uppermost publication from said stack toward said dispensing station. 2. A publication dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said support means is inclined away from said dispensing station wherein publications stacked on said support means are biased away from said distribution center by the angle of inclination of said support means and by the downward pressure of the holddown means.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said holddown means comprise finger-like members extending from one edge of the support means toward the other edge of the support means to apply a downward pressure on publications on said support means.

4. A device as defined in claim 1 further including follower means mounted for vertical movement along opposite side edges of said stack of publications adjacent the edge of the publications engaged by said pusher means, said follower means engaging the second publication from the top of the stack and maintaining said second publication on said stack.

5. A device as defined in claim 4 wherein said follower means comprise a plurality of rotatably mounted members which are mounted on pivotal arms biased inwardly above the support means so that the rotatably mounted members contact the side edges of publications on the support means, the rotatably mounted members being mounted to rotate as said follower means move vertically with respect to said support member.

6. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said pusher means includes means for enabling said edge to follow the contour of the publications in the stack below the uppermost publication as the pusher means moves from the home to the extended position.

7. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said head comprises two members adjustably connected for relative vertical movement; one of said members mounting the holddown means and the other of said members mounting the pusher means.

8. A device as defined in claim 7 further including a publication thickness adjustment means thereon for varying the relative vertical position of said two adjustably connected members so that the relative vertical position of said holddown means and said pusher means determine the thickness of publication that will be dispensed, said adjustment means including an indicator for setting the thickness of the publication to be dispensed.

9. A device as defined in claim 7 including means mounted on said other member extending inwardly above said support means and into contact with the side edges of the second publication from the top of the stack and maintaining the second publication on the stack.

10. A device as defined in claim 7 further including latch means mounted on said frame and associated with said pusher assembly head for maintaining said head in an out of the way position during loading of said device with a stack of publications.

11. A device as defined in claim 1 further including side alignment members connected to said frame and disposed on opposite sides of said support means for aligning the side edges of stacked publications on said support means.

12. A device as defined in claim 1 further including actuator means for moving said pusher means into its extended position.

13. A device as defined in claim l2 wherein said pusher means is adapted to move vertically and said actuator means includes a means which moves equidistant to said pusher means so that said pusher means motion from its home position to its extended position is always driven by a force acting in the same 5 direction but vertically displaced in accordance with the vertical displacement of the pusher means.

14. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said device includes a display compartment for retaining a publication to show the publications to be dispensed by said device and further including means for dispensing said publication from said display compartment when all publications have been removed from said stack and a proper coin is received by said machine.

15. A device as defined in claim 6 including:

actuator means for moving said pusher means into its extended position; and

a display compartment mounted on said frame including a pivotable floor, a first latch holding the floor in a publication supporting position, a stack height feeler associated with said first latch for opening said first latch when no publications remain in the stack, a second latch holding said floor in supporting position and a latch opening means for contacting said second latch and releasing said pivotal floor when all publications have been removed from said stack and the actuator means is driven.

16. A device for dispensing multipage publications 30 one at a time comprising:

a frame;

means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications;

a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means;

holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications;

dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station, said dispensing means including a pusher means mounted for vertical movement adjacent said support means and for dispensing movement from a home position to an extended position, said pusher means having a lower edge adapted to be in contact with an edge of the uppermost publication in a stack on said support means so that when said pusher means is activated it moves the uppermost publication from said stack toward said dispensing station; and

a pusher slide track above the support means on which said pusher means is mounted for movement between the home position and the extended position, 'and the entire slide track converges toward said stack supporting meansso that the pusher means converge slightly towards the stack supporting means as it moves from the home position into its extended position.

17. A device as defined in claim 16 wherein the angle of convergence between said slide track and said support means is less than about 4.

18. A device as defined in claim 16 wherein said pusher means comprises a pair of plates one of said plates being hingedly connected to a slide member on said slide track for sliding movement along said slide track and limited pivotal movement with respect to said slide track and the other of said plates being hingedly connected to said one plate so that the lower edge of said other plate is adapted to ride on and follow the contour of the second publication in a stack while pushing the top publication in a stack as the pusher means moves from its home to its extended position and to pivot over the publication stack when returning to the home position.

19. A device as defined in claim 18 further including means for biasing the pusher means to its home position and means for biasing said other plate to its nonpivoted position forming a substantially right angle with said one plate.

20. A device for dispensing multipage publications one at a time comprising:

aframe;

means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications;

a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means;

dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station, said dispensing means comprises a pusher means mounted for vertical movement adjacent said support means and for dispensing movement from a home position to an extended position, said pusher means having a lower edge adaptedto be in contact with an edge of the uppermost publication in a stack on said support means so that when said pusher means is activated it moves the uppermost publication from said stack toward said dispensing station; and

actuator means for moving said pusher means into its extended position including a shaft and pulley arrangement wherein the pulley is connected to the shaft for rotation therewith and longitudinal movement independent thereof for transferring force from said actuator means to said pusher member.

21. A device as defined in claim 20 further including means for maintaining said actuator means in a non-actuating condition until a proper coin is inserted into said device.

22. A device as defined in claim 21 further including a cable connected for movement on said frame and forming a closed loop between said pulley on said shaft a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means; holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications;

dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication 'from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station, said dispensing means comprises a pusher means mounted for vertical movement adjacent said support means and for dispensing movement from a home position to an extended position, said pusher means having a lower edge adapted to be in contact with an edge of the uppermost publication in a stack on said support means so that when said pusher means is activated it moves the uppermost publication from stack toward said dispensing station;

actuator means for moving said pusher means into its extended position including a drive actuator handle extending from within said. device to the exterior of said device;

a drive actuator arm pivotally mounted within the device on the frame thereof and connected to said handle;

a cable and pulley system connected to said actuator arm and to a pulley which is fixedly mounted on a shaft, said cable extending about the shaft pulley and over the pulley on said drive actuator arm so as to rotate said shaft when said actuator arm is pivoted;

a second pulley mounted on said shaft for rotation with said shaft and for longitudinal movement along said shaft, said second pulley having a pusher actuating cable extending therefrom and attached to said pusher means, said second pulley winding said second cable thereon when said drive actuator arm is pivoted thereby drawing. said pusher means toward said second pulley; and

means on said pusher means for returning said pusher means to its home position after said actuator arm has been fully pivoted.

24. A device as defined in claim 23 further including means on said actuator arm for disengaging said actuator arm fromdriving condition after said actuator arm has been fully pivoted.

25. A device as defined in claim 23 further including means connected to said actuator arm for locking said actuator arm unless a proper shape coin isreceivedby longitudinally extending arm having one end thereof mounted to the pivot pinand the same end thereof being hingedly attached to a second longitudinally extending arm said second arm being longer than said first armand said secondarm having a latchmember mountedthereon for attaching said second arm to said first arm; and

a coin opened latch mechanism mounted on said second arm for maintaining said second arm in an inoperable condition until a coin is received to open said latch mechanism.

27. A device as defined in claim 26 wherein said coin activated latch mechanism comprises a pivotally mounted latch member having a camming surface thereon said camming surface being adaptable to cam said latch mechanism into an unlatched position if a coin is moved into contact therewith and said device includes a coin chute disposed adjacent said camming surface.

28. A device for dispensing multipage publications one at a time comprising:

aframe;

means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications;

a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means;

holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications; and

dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station;

said holddown means comprise a plurality of fixed finger-like members extending from the rearward edge of said publication stack toward the forwardmost edge thereof and a plurality of downwardly biased shorter finger members extending in sub stantially the same manner as said fixed finger members but being spring biased downwardly from the fixed finger members into contact with the surfaces of the uppermost publication in said stack.

29. A dispenser head for a newspaper dispensing machine comprising:

a horizontal bar mounted for vertical reciprocation;

a substantially horizontally displaceable newspaper pusher member mounted for movement on said bar from a home position to an extended newspaper dispensing position, said pusher member having a lower edge for contacting the surface of the second newspaper in a stack and following the contour thereof;

a vertical plate mounted to said bar for vertical adjusting movement with respect thereto, said plate being in front of the bar and having an opening through which said pusher member extends; and

holddown means positioned adjacent to the side of said opening connected to said plate and extending in the direction of said pusher member above the lower edge so that the vertical spacing between said holddown means and said lower edge defines the thickness of a newspaper to be dispensed.

30. A machine for dispensing articles from a stack of articles comprising:

aframe; v

a dispensing head mounted for vertical movement on the frame and comprising:

means for sensing the upper surface of a stack of I articles;

means for moving the top article from said stack and for following the contour of the next article in the stack;

means adjustably connecting said sensing means and said moving and following means for varying the vertical spacing between these means and thereby setting the dispenser .head for dispensing articles of various thicknesses; and

means for directing an inward pressure on the side edges of the articles in the stack below the top article, said pressure means being connected to said means for moving and following so that the pressure means is adjusted with the moving and following means;

coin responsive means for driving said dispensing head to dispense articles from the stack; and

a display compartment for exhibiting an article being dispensed said display compartment comprising:

a front wall having a transparent portion;

a rear wall having locator members mounted thereto for positioning articles in the compartment;

a trap door forming a bottom for supporting articles in the compartment; said trap door being pivotally mounted;

latch means for maintaining the trap door closed;

means responsive to the absence of stacked articles and said driving means for moving said latch means and opening said trap door; and

manually operable latch opening means for opening said trap door.

31. A machine for dispensing articles from a stack of articles comprising:

a frame; a dispensing head mounted for vertical movement on the frame and comprising:

means for sensing the upper surface of a stack of articles; a

means for moving the top article from said stack and for following the contour of the next article in the stack; and

means adjustably connecting said sensing means and said moving and following means for varying the vertical spacing between these means and thereby setting the dispenser head for dispensing articles of various thickness; and

coin responsive means for driving said dispensing head to dispense articles from the stack comprismg:

a pivotally mounted actuator arm having two Iongitudinally extending sections latched together;

a drive train connected to the upper section of said actuator arm and to said moving and following means so that said drive train actuates said moving and following means upon pivoting of said actuator arm; and

means defining a limit position for pivotal movement of said actuator arm and for unlatching said upper section from said lower sect-ion and permitting said drive train to return to a non-actuating position.

Claims

1. A device for dispensing multipage publications one at a time comprising: a frame; means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications; a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means; holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications; and dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station, said dispensing means comprises a pusher assembly head mounted for vertical movement adjacent said support means, the head including pusher means mounted for reciprocating dispensing movement from a home position to an extended position outwardly from the remainder of the head, said Pusher means having a lower edge adapted to be in contact with an edge of the uppermost publication in the stack on said support means so that when said pusher means is extended it moves the uppermost publication from said stack toward said dispensing station.

2. A publication dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said support means is inclined away from said dispensing station wherein publications stacked on said support means are biased away from said distribution center by the angle of inclination of said support means and by the downward pressure of the holddown means.

13. A device as defined in claim 12 wherein said pusher means is adapted to move vertically and said actuator means includes a means which moves equidistant to said pusher means so that said pusher means motion from its home position to its extended position is always driven by a force acting in the same direction but vertically displaced in accordance with the vertical displacement of the pusher means.

15. A device as defined in claim 6 including: actuator means for moving said pusher means into its extended position; and a display compartment mounted on said frame including a pivotable floor, a first latch holding the floor in a publication supporting position, a stack height feeler associated with said first latch for opening said first latch when no publications remain in the stack, a second latch holding said floor in supporting position and a latch opening means for contacting said second latch and releasing said pivotal floor when all publications have been removed from said stack and the actuator means is driven.

16. A device for dispensing multipage publications one at a time comprising: a frame; means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications; a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means; holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications; dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station, said dispensing means including a pusher means mounted for vertical movement adjacent said support means and for dispensing movement from a home position to an extended position, said pusher means having a lower edge adapted to be in contact with an edge of the uppermost publication in a stack on said support means so that when said pusher means is activated it moves the uppermost publication from said stack toward said dispensing station; and a pusher slide track above the support means on which said pusher means is mounted for movement between the home position and the extended position, and the entire slide track converges toward said stack supporting means so that the pusher means converge slightly towards the stack supporting means as it moves from the home position into its extended position.

17. A device as defined in claim 16 wherein the angle of convergence between said slide track and said support means is less than about 4*.

19. A device as defined in claim 18 further including means for biasing the pusher means to its home position and means for biasing said other plate to its non-pivoted position forming a substantially right angle with said one plate.

20. A device for dispensing multipage publications one at a time comprising: a frame; means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications; a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means; holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications; dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station, said dispensing means comprises a pusher means mounted for vertical movement adjacent said support means and for dispensing movement from a home position to an extended position, said pusher means having a lower edge adapted to be in contact with an edge of the uppermost publication in a stack on said support means so that when said pusher means is activated it moves the uppermost publication from said stack toward said dispensing station; and actuator means for moving said pusher means into its extended position including a shaft and pulley arrangement wherein the pulley is connected to the shaft for rotation therewith and longitudinal movement independent thereof for transferring force from said actuator means to said pusher member.

22. A device as defined in claim 21 further including a cable connected for movement on said frame and forming a closed loop between said pulley on said shaft and said pusher means, and tensioning means on said cable for maintaining equidistant movement between said pusher means and said pulley on said shaft.

23. A device for dispensing multipage publications one at a time comprising: a frame; means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications; a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means; holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications; dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station, said dispensing means comprises a pusher means mounted for vertical movement adjacent said support means and for dispensing movement from a home position to an extended position, said pusher means having a lower edge adapted to be in contact with an edge of the uppermost publication in a stack on said support means so that when said pusher means is activated it moves the uppermost publication from stack toward said dispensing station; actuator means for moving said pusher means into its extended position including a drive actuator handle extending from within said device to the exterior of said device; a drive actuator arm pivotally mounted within the device on the frame thereof and connected to said handle; a cable and pulley system connected to said actuator arm and to a pulley which is fixedly mounted on a shaft, said cable extending about the shaft pulley and over the pulley on said drive actuator arm so as to rotate said shaft when said actuator arm is pivoted; a second pulley mounted on said shaft for rotation with said shaft and for longitudinal movement along said shaft, said second pulley having a pusher actuating cable extending therefrom and attached to said pusher means, said second pulley winding said second cable thereon when said drive actuator arm is pivoted thereby drawing said pusher means toward said second pulley; and means on said pusher means for returning said pusher means to its home position after said actuator arm has been fully pivoted.

24. A device as defined in claim 23 further including means on said actuator arm for disengaging said actuator arm from driving condition after said actuator arm has been fully pivoted.

25. A device as defined in claim 23 further including means connected to said actuator arm for locking said actuator arm unless a proper shape coin is received by said device.

26. A device as defined in claim 25 wherein said actuator arm comprises a two longitudinally extending piece arm member pivotally mounted about an eccentrically positioned mounting pin; said two pieCe actuator member comprising a first longitudinally extending arm having one end thereof mounted to the pivot pin and the same end thereof being hingedly attached to a second longitudinally extending arm said second arm being longer than said first arm and said second arm having a latch member mounted thereon for attaching said second arm to said first arm; and a coin opened latch mechanism mounted on said second arm for maintaining said second arm in an inoperable condition until a coin is received to open said latch mechanism.

28. A device for dispensing multipage publications one at a time comprising: a frame; means on said frame for supporting a stack of publications; a dispensing station mounted to said frame and spaced from said support means; holddown means movably mounted on said frame and adapted to rest on the top publication in a stack of publications on the support means for applying downward pressure to the stack of publications; and dispensing means movably connected to said frame for overcoming the force of said holddown means for moving the uppermost publication from said stack of publications out from under the holddown means and to the dispensing station; said holddown means comprise a plurality of fixed finger-like members extending from the rearward edge of said publication stack toward the forwardmost edge thereof and a plurality of downwardly biased shorter finger members extending in substantially the same manner as said fixed finger members but being spring biased downwardly from the fixed finger members into contact with the surfaces of the uppermost publication in said stack.

29. A dispenser head for a newspaper dispensing machine comprising: a horizontal bar mounted for vertical reciprocation; a substantially horizontally displaceable newspaper pusher member mounted for movement on said bar from a home position to an extended newspaper dispensing position, said pusher member having a lower edge for contacting the surface of the second newspaper in a stack and following the contour thereof; a vertical plate mounted to said bar for vertical adjusting movement with respect thereto, said plate being in front of the bar and having an opening through which said pusher member extends; and holddown means positioned adjacent to the side of said opening connected to said plate and extending in the direction of said pusher member above the lower edge so that the vertical spacing between said holddown means and said lower edge defines the thickness of a newspaper to be dispensed.

30. A machine for dispensing articles from a stack of articles comprising: a frame; a dispensing head mounted for vertical movement on the frame and comprising: means for sensing the upper surface of a stack of articles; means for moving the top article from said stack and for following the contour of the next article in the stack; means adjustably connecting said sensing means and said moving and following means for varying the vertical spacing between these means and thereby setting the dispenser head for dispensing articles of various thicknesses; and means for directing an inward pressure on the side edges of the articles in the stack below the top article, said pressure means being connected to said means for moving and following so that the pressure means is adjusted with the moving and following means; coin responsive means for driving said dispensing head to dispense articles from the stack; and a display compartment for exhibiting an article being dispensed said display compartment comprising: a fRont wall having a transparent portion; a rear wall having locator members mounted thereto for positioning articles in the compartment; a trap door forming a bottom for supporting articles in the compartment; said trap door being pivotally mounted; latch means for maintaining the trap door closed; means responsive to the absence of stacked articles and said driving means for moving said latch means and opening said trap door; and manually operable latch opening means for opening said trap door.

31. A machine for dispensing articles from a stack of articles comprising: a frame; a dispensing head mounted for vertical movement on the frame and comprising: means for sensing the upper surface of a stack of articles; means for moving the top article from said stack and for following the contour of the next article in the stack; and means adjustably connecting said sensing means and said moving and following means for varying the vertical spacing between these means and thereby setting the dispenser head for dispensing articles of various thickness; and coin responsive means for driving said dispensing head to dispense articles from the stack comprising: a pivotally mounted actuator arm having two longitudinally extending sections latched together; a drive train connected to the upper section of said actuator arm and to said moving and following means so that said drive train actuates said moving and following means upon pivoting of said actuator arm; and means defining a limit position for pivotal movement of said actuator arm and for unlatching said upper section from said lower section and permitting said drive train to return to a non-actuating position.