Vending Machine

This invention relates to vending apparatus for such articles as newspapers, magazines or the like and, more particularly, to such apparatus having access under control of a coin-mechanism for removal of an article.

Vending machines or apparatus have hitherto been provided for substantially non-rigid articles such as newspapers or the like, which may vary widely in size from issue-to-issue as in the case of newspapers, or magazines or other publications. In one class of such vending apparatus in which the access opening is controlled or latched and unlatched by a coin-mechanism, once access has been gained by inserting the required coins into the coin-mechanism and the opening unlatched, one or more articles, that is, newspapers, magazines or the like, can be removed. Such apparatus has long been recognized as being characterized by the removal of two or more items when only one was paid for. While numerous attempts have been made to eliminate such shortcomings, the solutions provided have usually introduced further drawbacks.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,650 granted to F. W. Medley, III, on Dec. 2, 1980, is entitled "Single Copy Periodical Dispenser" having a housing in which an access opening in the front wall of the housing is normally closed by the shield portion [62] of a rotatable member [50] carrying a roller [64] which is biased against the upper surface of the uppermost newspaper in a stack. Successful operation of the apparatus by a customer depends upon the topmost newspaper curling upward away from its underlying neighbor when the rotatable member is actuated so that the top paper can be grasped by the customer when he inserts his hand into the opening. At the same time, actuation of the rotatable member is supposed to prevent access. Following removal of a newspaper, the supply stack is raised by the spring biased platform [36] which urges the topmost item against an overhanging stop [26].

Numerous other arrangements have been proposed, but they, like that disclosed in the 4,236,650 patent just discussed, rely upon an article such as a newspaper or shopping bag or the like reacting in a predictable manner when engaged by a dispensing means.

The present invention stems from the discovery that the shortcomings of prior devices for vending non-rigid articles which can vary widely in size from one batch to another can be substantially, if not entirely, overcome by controlling access to the articles to prevent withdrawal of more than the number paid for. This makes it possible to omit entirely means for dispensing the articles and the drawbacks associated therewith.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a vending apparatus for non-rigid articles which may vary in size, e.g. thickness, from batch to batch as in the case of newspapers, magazines and the like, in which operation of the apparatus following deposit of a predetermined amount of money provides access to the article storage area from which only a predetermined article or number of articles can be removed.

Another object is to provide such a vending apparatus in which the effective size of the access opening through which the articles being vended are removable is readily adjusted to match the thickness of the article or articles to be vended.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus having a relatively simple construction, but yet is substantially tamper-proof and reliable in operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus wherein access to the articles to be vended after the deposit of the required amount of money is limited to the article or articles paid for.

In carrying out the present invention, means are provided for delivering the articles to be vended to a position adjacent an access opening through which the article or articles can be removed by a customer following deposit of the required amount of money and operation of the vending machine in a prescribed manner. A unique feature of the present invention resides in access opening control means including gating means which, unless actuated by the customer following deposit of the prescribed amount of money, prevents withdrawal of articles through the access opening. In a preferred embodiment, the gating means comprises a pair of blocking members which normally obstruct the access opening to prevent the removal of the articles. Following deposit of the required fee and actuation of the vending machine, the gating means is actuated to shift the blocking members to a second position permitting withdrawal of an article through the access opening. Removal of the article actuates the gating means to return the blocking members to their starting position obstructing the access opening. Preferably, means may also be provided for readily changing the size of the access opening to accommodate changes in the size of the articles to be vended from batch to batch.

Further objects as well as advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof and the accompanying drawings in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vending machine with a portion of the outer panel of its front door partially cut away for convenience;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the upper portion of the vending machine with its outer flap open and exposing the access opening and a portion of the gating means controlling the removal of articles;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view partially in section of the upper portion of the vending machine on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3A is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the apparatus as viewed in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view, partially in section and broken away, of the actuating and gating assemblies with the various parts in their normal unactuated positions with the gating means blocking the access opening;

FIG. 4A is a fragmentary sectional view along the line 4A--4A of FIG. 4 in the direction indicated;

FIG. 4B is a partial sectional view through the line 4B--4B of FIG. 4 in the direction indicated;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5--5 of FIG. 4 showing, on an enlarged scale, an antitampering assembly;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view along the line 6--6 of FIG. 4 showing the front flap locking assembly;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view taken through the line 7--7 of FIG. 4B in the direction indicated showing means for retarding operation of the apparatus;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the gating means and means for adjusting the size of the access opening; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the line 9--9 of FIG. 3A in the direction indicated.

Referring now to the drawings, which show a preferred embodiment, and, in particular, to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the vending apparatus comprises an enclosure 10 having a hinge-mounted front door 12. Enclosure 10 is preferably formed with a transverse wall 10a forming a front compartment with the inner surface of front door 12 and a larger rear compartment for a supply of articles to be vended. The front compartment is closed at its top by a plate-like member 144 which also forms the floor or lower boundary of the area leading to access opening 11. In the arrangement shown, a hinge-mounted top cover 14 provides ready access, when open, for the loading of a supply of articles to be vended indicated generally at 13. An access opening indicated generally at 11 is provided through which articles 13 are removed by a customer. If desired, the outer or front end of access opening 11 may be secured by a flap door 16 horizontally hinge mounted to the enclosure 10 above the front door 12.

While any desired arrangement including a continuous feeding arrangement may be used, the articles 13 to be vended, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, are preferably stacked within the rear compartment 10c. One convenient arrangement that is preferred for feeding the articles is to position the articles 13 upon a platform 20 slidably mounted on vertical rod-shaped support members 24 by means of bushings 22 which engage and are urged upward by coil springs 26 mounted on each of the members 24, whereby the platform 20 and articles 13 stacked upon it are biased upward to their uppermost position with the upper article 13 against a hinged stop or cover plate 160 to ensure a continuous supply of articles to the access opening 11.

It may well be to note here that it is immaterial to the present invention whether the vending apparatus is adapted to respond to money in the form of paper money or coins. The present preferred embodiment is constructed to respond to coins and will be described in conjunction with a coin mechanism. Thus, referring once again to FIG. 1, slot 15 is provided in the front wall 10d of enclosure 10 and communicates with a coin mechanism 17, the details of which form no part of the present invention and which is indicated schematically. A preferred device is one manufactured and sold by National Rejectors Industries, Division of UMC Industries, Inc., Hot Springs, Ark., under the designation No. 13-03-054 SCS Module. As is well known in the art, actuation of coin mechanism 17 following deposit of a predetermined amount of money results in actuation of a release member such as rotation of a notched disk 18 (FIG. 9) which, as will be more fully pointed out hereinbelow, permits a customer to complete operation of the vending apparatus.

As is most clearly shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 3A, a cam shaft 130 is rotatably mounted adjacent one end thereof in a support plate member 19 through which it extends and adjacent to its rearward end is rotatably supported by transverse wall 10a. Support plate member 19 is mounted just within the opening closed by front door 12. An operating plate 125 having a toothed sector 123 is fixed to cam shaft 130 adjacent to the front end thereof so as to be juxtaposed to the inner surface of front door 12 when the latter is closed. A drive pin 127 is fixed to operating plate 125 spaced from cam shaft 130 and, with front door 12 closed as shown in FIG. 3, extends into engagement with a slide member 37 of actuating assembly 32, slide member 37 having slot 37a formed therein for that purpose. Slide member 37 is slidably mounted in front door 12 with an extended portion thereof vertically slidable in slot 38 formed in the rearward presented side 12b of front door 12.

Slide member 37 is part of an actuating assembly 32 which is slidably mounted within the front door 12, between front and rear panels 12a and 12b thereof. In addition to slide member 37, the actuating assembly 32 includes a yoke member 34 rigidly connected to slide member 37 for movement therewith. As is most clearly shown in FIG. 4B, yoke member 34, remote from slide member 37, has a rearwardly extending bifurcated portion or flange 40 which extends rearwardly through an elongated vertically extending slot 41 formed in the rear panel 12b of the front door 12 to engage a pin 44 adjacent the lower end of access opening control means 60 yet to be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, slide member 37 has fixed thereto an elongated delivery or operating handle 36 which extends forwardly through a vertical slot 36a formed in door front panel 12a. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, delivery handle 36 is in its lowered or starting position.

Also slidably mounted within front door 12, is an elongated coin return member 50 located in close-spaced side-by-side relation with actuating slide member 37. Coin return member 50 carries a handle 54 which extends forwardly through a slot 54a (FIG. 1) formed in front panel 12a of door 12 and a pin 54B which extends rearwardly through a slot 54C in rear panel 12b to engage the coin mechanism 17. As is well known in the art and need not be further described here, downward actuation of coin return handle 54 following deposit of coins in the coin slot 15 results in the coins being returned via coin return chute 55.

As is most clearly shown in FIG. 4, a lockout member 52 is slidably supported between the actuating slide member 37 and the coin return member 50 so that operation of one of these members by a customer prevents operation of the other unless the first to be operated is returend to its start position. To this end, with the actuating slide member 37 and the coin return member 50 in their starting positions, two juxtaposed notches, notch 56 formed in slide member 37 and notch 57 formed in coin return member 50, are aligned so that lockout member 52 is free to enter one or the other of the notches 56, 57 depending upon whether the slide member 37 or the coin return member 50 is operated first, the other being thereby locked against vertical displacement by the lockout member 52 until the displaced member is returned to its start position.

As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A, access opening control means 60 comprises actuating means 61 and gating means 73 responsive thereto. Actuating means 61, in turn, includes an elongated actuator 62 which, as shown, has a longitudinal flange 64 to facilitate slidably connecting the same to a vertically extending support flange 66 connected to and extending from adjacent the bottom to adjacent the top of transverse wall 10a. The flange 66 has two elongated slots 67, only one of which is shown in FIG. 4A, which extend vertically along flange 66. Actuator flange 64 is slidably connected to the support flange 66 by means of suitable fasteners 67a, one of which passes through each of the support flange slots 67. Adjacent to its lower end, actuator 62 carries the laterally extending pin 44 which, with door 12 closed as most clearly shown in FIG. 4B, extends through the slot 42 in the bifurcated flange 40 of the yoke 34. Thus, when flange 40 is carried up on operation of delivery handle 36 to raise slide member 37, pin 44 is driven upward thereby raising the gating actuating means 61. Adjacent to its upper end, actuator 62 carries resilient means preferably in the form of an elongated resilient member 69 having a hook 72 biased rearwardly for engaging the gating means 73 as is yet to be described. As is most clearly shown in FIG. 3, top cover 14 in its closed position is positioned spaced above stop plate 160. Stop plate 160 is hinged to closure member 161 and the latter is connected to the side and front walls of enclosure 10, forming the top of the access area leading to access opening 11. Closure member 161 has an opening formed therein through which the upper end portion of resilient member 69 extends and is free to move, the latter being long enough so that it extends adjacent to the closure member 161 when actuator 62 is in its lowered position.

It is desirable to prevent excessively rapid return of the operating handle 36 to its lowered position so as to minimize the risk of a malfunction. A preferred retarding means 170 comprises a generally rectangular plate 171 connected by a pivot pin 175 to the rear panel 12b of front door 12. As is most clearly shown in FIG. 7, plate 171 is connected to front door 12 so that a slot 173 formed therein is in registration with bifurcated flange 40 carried by yoke member 34 and with slot 41 formed in rear panel 12b when the plate is positioned with its slot 173 extending substantially vertically. Slot 173 opens diagonally downward through a slot 172, the left edge 174 of which, as viewed in FIG. 7, functions as a camming surface as now will be described. It should be first noted that pivot pin 175 supports plate 171 well to the right of its vertical axis so that the bulk of its weight under the force of gravity urges the plate 171 to rotate counterclockwise. When a customer raises delivery handle 36 after depositing the required amount of money, flange 40 is carried upward on yoke 34, the latter being connected to slide member 37 on which handle 36 is mounted. As flange 40 rises it causes plate 171 to rotate clockwise (FIG. 7) until, at the top of its upward travel flange 40 is positioned in slot 173. Now as flange 40 moves downward in response to downward movement of delivery handle 36 by the customer, plate 171 will be free to rotate counterclockwise once the upper end of flange 40 clears the upper end portion of slot 173. The rate of rotation of plate 171 counterclockwise is such that if the flange 40 moves downward too rapidly it will encounter the bottom 173a of slot 173 so that its downward travel will be arrested until plate 171 has substantially completed its rotation.

Preferred means for readily adjusting the access opening 11 through which articles 13 are removed by a customer is most clearly shown in FIGS. 4 and 8 and comprises a pair of spaced generally tubular members 76 which extend upward through openings in plate-like member 144. Tubular members 76 are joined by a strap 77 retained in slidable engagement with transverse wall 10a below plate-like member 144 in any suitable manner such as by brackets 77a fixed to the wall 10a. Each of the tubular members carries a relatively large area guard plate 76a which projects forwardly from the access opening 11 and which together serve to restrict the movement of a customer's hand. As shown, an arm 79 depending from strap 77, has a series of aligned openings 79a formed therein for receiving the free end portion of an adjusting pin 80 fixed to transverse wall 10a in a suitable location such that engagement of successive openings 79a with the pin 80 serves to raise or lower strap 77 and the tubular members 76 carried thereby a corresponding amount in front of the access opening 11 above plate-like member 144. A finger piece 79b formed by a bent over end portion of arm 79 facilitates movement of the strap 77 to adjust the position of tubular member 76 and thereby the access opening 11.

Gating means 73 comprises a pair of blocking pins or members 78, one for each of the tubular members 76 through which each extends as most clearly shown in FIGS. 4 and 8. Adjacent their lower ends, blocking members 78 are connected to a carriage in the form of a cross bar 74 Rails 75 are fixed to transverse wall 10a and are vertically slotted to receive the opposite end portions of cross bar 74 and support the latter in vertically movable relation to the wall 10a. Adjacent its left end, as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 8, cross bar 74 has fixed thereto a finger 81 aligned with and positioned for engagement by the hook 72 on resilient member 69 when, after having been raised, the actuator 62 is moved downward. One end of a spring 94 is connected to cross bar 74, and the other end is connected to transverse wall 10a so as to bias the cross bar 74 upward and return it to its raised position when it and the parts carried thereby are free to move. When the cross bar 74 and blocking members 78 carried thereby are in their raised position, the access opening 11 is blocked, and no articles can be removed therethrough. When, as a result of operation of handle 36 to move slide member 37 and yoke 34 downward, actuator 62 is carried downward by the engagement of its pin 44 in bifurcated flange 40, resilient member 69 by its hook 72 engages the cross bar finger 81 and forces the cross bar 74 downward withdrawing blocking members 78 into the tubular members 76. With the blocking members 78 thus withdrawn, the upper ends of the tubular members 76 serve to define the effective size of the access opening and thereby limit the article or articles to be removed in accordance with the position of arm 79 relative to adjusting pin 80.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, means 100 for preventing or stopping unauthorized movement of blocking members 78 may be provided, and a preferred arrangement comprises a keeper 102 connected to support flange 66 by a pivot pin 104. As shown in FIG. 5, keeper 102 is formed with a recess or notch 108 in its upper portion to receive cross bar 74 and is supported by pin 104 so that it is urged clockwise under the influence of gravity as viewed in FIG. 5. The forwardly presented edge 106 of keeper 102 is positioned to be engaged by a tang 110 carried by actuator 62 as the latter is moved to its raised position so that the keeper 102 is rotated counterclockwise (FIG. 5) carrying the upper end portion of the keeper 102 far enough to the rear of cross bar 74 so that the latter is free to descend under the influence of resilient member 69 as resilient member 69 is moved downward with actuator 62. The arrangement is such that resilient member 69 in engagement with finger 81 carried by cross bar 74 moves the latter downward in front of the leading edge 106 of keeper 102 so that the latter cannot prevent further downward movement of cross bar 74 and the blocking members 78 carried thereby. When, after handle 36 has been moved to its fully lowered position and the customer removes an article 13 through the access opening 11, the article 13 in its passage moves the resilient member 69 out of engagement with finger 81. Thus, as soon as the trailing end of article 13 has cleared the gating means, cross bar 74 carrying blocking members 78 and finger 81 is free to rise under the influence of its return spring 94 and is thereby moved to its raised position with blocking members 78 once again in position across the access opening 11 to prevent removal of additional articles. As cross bar 74 arrives at its raised position and because actuator 62 is in its lowered position with tang 110 out of the way of the leading edge 106 of keeper 102, the latter is free to rotate clockwise (FIG. 5) under the influence of gravity and to fall under the cross bar 74 thereby preventing the blocking members 78 from being pushed out of the access opening 11.

When a latch is desired for the flap door 16 a preferred construction is one in which the latching means is controlled by the gating means to minimize the risk of the flap door 16 becoming accidentally locked before the customer has removed the article 13. To this end, an inverted L-shaped member 84 is slidably mounted on rail 75 positioned to the right of the cross bar 74 (FIGS. 4, 6 and 8) and is vertically movable thereon. The horizontally extending portion of inverted L-shaped member 84 forms a lever 84a which carries a catch 85. Catch 85 extends upwardly from lever 84a and its upper, bifurcated end nests between a pair of spaced, upwardly extending arms 87 of a bracket 88. Bracket 88 is fastened, as by welding, to the inner face of the front wall 10d of enclosure 10 in registration with latch opening 89 (FIGS. 2 and 6) formed in the front wall. A latching spring 98 has one end connected to bracket 88 and its other end connected to catch lever 84a and is tensioned to normally bias inverted L-shaped member 84 to its raised position so that catch 85 engages latch 92 on flap door 16 to lock the latter. An opening spring 96 has one end connected to cross arm 74 and the other end to catch lever 84a, the force of opening spring 96 being sufficiently greater than that of latching spring 98 that the latter can only bias catch 85 to its raised latching position when opening spring 96 is not extended. Opening spring 96 is always sufficiently extended to overcome latching spring 98 except when cross bar 74 is in or close to its upper position and the access opening 11 is closed by the gating means 73.

At the start of operation of the apparatus, delivery handle 36 is in its lowered position as shown in the drawings, the gating means is raised with blocking members 78 obstructing the access opening, and, if constructed as shown, flap door 16 is latched. Initial upward movement of delivery handle 36 serves to rotate operating plate 125, its pin 127 being engaged by slide member 37, until its leading edge 125a engages a blocking member or dog 140 unless the blocking member 140 because of actuation of the coin mechanism 17 has been shunted out of the way. As is well known and forms no part of the present invention, coin or money collecting mechanisms are customarily positioned to control operation of a vending apparatus in response to deposit of a predetermined amount of money. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 9, a cam plate 128 having a circumferentially extending cam slot 136 is fixed to cam shaft 130 for rotation therewith and with operating plate 125. Initial rotation of cam shaft 130 serves to displace cam slot 136 clockwise (FIG. 9) bringing a pin 132 to a radially outward extending portion of slot 136. The right end portion of pin 132, as indicated in FIG. 3, is juxtaposed to the periphery of disk 18 having a peripheral notch. The position of the notch in disk 18 is controlled by coin mechanism 17, as is well known, and need not be described here. Suffice it to say here that, unless the required amount of money has been deposited and not returned, the notch in disk 18 will be out of alignment with pin 136, and further rotation of operating plate 125 is prevented by the blocking member 140. On the other hand, if the notch in disk 18 is aligned with pin 132, the latter is cammed upwards.

The fowardly presented end portion of blocking member 140 projects through an opening 141 formed in support plate 19. The rearward portion of blocking member 140 extends at right angles to the front part and substantially parallel to transverse wall 10a to form the tang portion 140a. The tang portion 140a, adjacent to the main body of the blocking member 140 is supported by vertically extending pin 142 so as to be pivotable about the vertical axis of pin 142. A lever 133 pivotally supported from transverse wall 10a by pin 134 is formed with an inclined spur 133a positioned to engage the tang portion 140a of blocking member 140. The other end of lever 133 is engaged by pin 132 and is free to be raised thereby when pin 132 is forced upward by cam plate 128.

Thus, when pin 132 is forced up on continued rotation of cam plate 128, lever 133 is pivoted counterclockwise (FIG. 9) carrying its spur 133a down. This downward movement of spur 133a engaging tang 140a causes the blocking member 140 to rotate and shift its forward end to the left (FIGS. 1 and 9) clear of the path of operating plate leading edge 125a. Continued rotation of operating plate 125 carries its leading edge into engagement with means for preventing return of the operating plate 125 to its start position until operating handle 36 has been raised to the top of its slot 36a and the operating plate 125 has completed its clockwise rotation (FIG. 1).

As most clearly shown in FIG. 1, a detent or anti-backup member 151 is pivotally connected to support plate 19 with its nose 152 positioned to intercept the operating plate leading edge 125a. Detent tail 153 is engaged by a spring 154, the other end of which is connected to support plate 19. Rotation of operating plate 125 clockwise (FIG. 1) causes it to deflect detent nose 152 upward and permitting its toothed sector 123 to pass the detent. If an attempt should be made to reverse the operating plate 125 while its toothed sector 123 engages detent nose 152 the parts lock and further rotation is prevented until the already initiated rotation is resumed and completed. It is to be understood that detent 151 functions in the manner just described during both the start of operation when delivery handle 36 is raised and completion thereof when the delivery handle 36 is lowered except that operating plate 125 being rotated counteclockwise to its start position, the detent nose 152 is deflected downward.

At the same time that pin 132 is raised by cam plate 128, pin 139, extending in slot 138, is forced down to actuate a coin collecting means (not shown), thereby delivering the money to a coin box so that the coins which actuated mechanism 17 are no longer in a position to be returned by coin return member 50.

It is believed that the operation of the apparatus of the present invention has been fully described herein above and further discussion thereof is not required here. The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.