US1999887A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Description

April 30, 1935. c. WALKER I VENDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 21, 1931 Patented Apr. 30, 1935' NT oF'FI cE VENDING MACHINE. Charles Walker, Knoxville, enn. Application October 21, 1931, serial No. 570,076 eams. (01. 312-47) I My invention consists in new and useful improvements iii-coin controlledvending machines "and has for its object-to provide a device'of this character capable oftholding a large number of articles such as spools ofthread and the like, and vendingthe same either individually or in predetermined numbers commensurate withthe value of thecoin' inserted. i Another-"object of my invention is to'provide means whereby the delivery of more thana predetermined number of articles is positively :pre-

vented. V a With the aboveand other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention consists in'the novel features herein set forth, illustrated. in the accompanying drawing and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

:Referring to the drawing in which-numerals of I likecharacter designate similarparts throughout the several views, I Fig. 1 is avertical longitudinal section through the machine with the parts shown in normal inoperative position'. I .Fig. :2 is a similar-viewof the. vendingmechanism shown in Fig. l with theparts'shown in pro-delivery position. i

Fig. 3: is :a plan view of .the coin controlled mechanism, and .1 Fig. 4 is :atransverse sectional View: of the delivery element. In the drawing, I represents the housing of the vending machine which is provided in its upper portion with a partition 2 downwardly inclined toward the front to form a magazine 3for retain- .ing the articles to be vended. This magazine may -be.filled-in any suitable manner or it may be connected by means of a chute 4 to a source of supply. The partition ZLterminatesat its" forward extremity .in a downwardly extending wall.;5 which isspacedrearwardly from the front wall of the housing Ito define a delivery passageway 6. .JThe

front wall of the housing. I is provided adjacent the delivery passageway with a receptacle.- 1 for receiving the delivered articles, the wall beneath said receptacle being inset as at 8 towardthe' wall 5 of the partition. .7

' 9: represents a deliveryjelement which is preferably substantially rectangular in shape and lies in' the delivery passageway 6 between the wall- 5 of the partition and the inset portion 8 of the front wall of the housing, the horizontal extremities of said element being vertically grooved as at LII) to engage guide members as shown'in Fig.

4, whereby said delivery-element is capable of a A vertical reciprocation in the rear portion of the passageway 6 as will hereinafter appear. The upper extremity of the deliveryelement 9 forms a carriage l2 and is provided with a vertical p-rojection 'or rib l3 onits front side, said carriage being adapted to normally lie immediately adjacent the front end of the inclined partition 2% shown in Fig. 1.- The front face of the delivery member 9 is recessed intermediate its vertical extremities as at M, said recess being so located thatwhen the delivery member is in its uppermost position, the recess will lie directly across from a restricting'projectionI5 on thefront wall of the housing I. Downward movement'of the delivery element 9 is limited by a lug l6 carried by the frontwall of the housing adjacent the lower extremity of the delivery passageway.

Reciprocating motion may be transmitted to the delivery element by any suitable means, that shown in the drawing consisting of a coinreleased plunger ll reciprocably mounted in suitablebearings and projecting through the front wall of the housing where it terminates in' a handle l8; This plunger ll carries on its upper sidea lug l9 adapted to engage the freeend of an arm"2ll which is pivotally carried-as at 21 by the lower end of the deliveryelement 9. Thus on the'forward movement of theplunger E1, the lug l9 through the mediiun'of the arm 29 will causethe delivery-element 9 tomove vertically in. the delivery. passageway into the" position shown in Fig. 2.:. .Upon releasing the handle [8 of thenplunger I7, the partsare returned to normal position by means of a coil spring .22 which surroundsthe plunger. ll andabuts a collar 23 fixedito said plunger, and spring 22a whichoperatively-engages the delivery element 9 and normally tends' to urge the latter downwardly;

As in the case of the actuatingmechanism, various forms of coin control mechanism may be employed in connection withmy invention. For example, as shown in Figs. land 3', the plunger ll is vertically and'longitudinally. recessed as; at 24 which recessllies directly'be'neath the discharge endlof a'coin chute 25. Y Within this reat one end to the plunger l1, whereby the upper edge of the coin X is held slightly above a curved lip 3| on the forward edge of the delivery chute 25 for the purpose hereinafter set forth. In the position shown in Fig. 1, the coin is prevented from displacement by means of a vertically extending stationary arm 32 carried by the bottom wall of the housing.

Having thus described the structure of the preferred form of my invention, its operation is as follows:-'- V Assuming that the magazine 3is filled with articles such as spools of thread or the like, and d the mechanism is in the position shown in Fig. "1. In the absence of a coin from the m'echanism, the forward movement of the plunger I! by the.

handle 18 will bring the free end 28 ofthe coin retaining arm 26 into engagement with .th'estationary lug 29, thus preventing the operation of the vending device. Upon the insertion or a coin in the chute 25, if it be of- -the proper; denomination, said coin will drop ontothegretaining arm 26 in the slot 24-of the plunger" where it will be held in place by the vertical arm 32. Now the forward movement of the plunger ll will bring the upper edge of .the coin into engagement with the lip 35 onthe chute and cause the arm 26 to swing downwardly-onthe pivot 21 a sufficient distance for the upper end 28, to clear the lug 29. This permits the continued forward movement of the plunger ll which brings the lug [9 onthe plunger into engagement with ,the free end of thearm 28. whereby thedelivery element 9 is moved upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2. ,In this position, the recess 14 in the delivery element lies directly opposite the restricting projection, l5, and the lowermost article A moves by gravity partially into. said recess 14, the article next above being prevented from entering said recess by the forward face of 'the element 9. r 1 Upon releasing the handle N3, the plunger H is caused to return to its normal position by the spring 22 whereupon the collar 23 kicks the lower end of the arm .20 inwardly and permits the 'delivery element 9 to descend. During this movement, the lowermost article A rides into the recess l4, past the projection 15 "and isJdelivered into the receptacle 1. It, will be noted that as the delivery element 9 moves downwardly, the recess l4 carrying the lowermost article-A passes the projection 15 before the article next :above has had an'opportunity to *descendjurther'than said projection, and thus the delivery of more than one article is prevented, the others being 7 retained bythe restriction in the passageway.

Referring again to the upward movement of the delivery element ,9, it will be noted that in Fig. l the'forwardmost'article-B on thep'artition 2 has rolled by gravityonto the carriage I2 and is preventedfrom further forwardmovement by the verticalprojection I3. Nownpon the upward movement 'ofthe elenientS, the article B will be elevated as shown in' FigQ2 and the article C next in line will roll by gravity until it abuts the rear face of element BLYTheretuIn of le ment 9 to its lowermost positioneauses the lower portion of the article B to engage the upper portion of article C whereupon the former is pushed over the projection 131 and fed to the delivery passageway. e

When the plunger I! is in its forwardmost position, it will be noted that the coin X has been moved past the vertical arm 32 whereupon receptacle on the down-stroke.

it is permitted to drop from the retaining arm 26 into any suitable coin receptacle not shown.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of my invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the art without further description, it being borne in mind that numerous changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention as set outin the following claims. For example, while I have shown the device as adapted to deliver individual spools of thread, it is obvious that by increasing the'size of the recess I4, two or more spools of thread may be delivered as desired. Furthermore, the machine may be used for vending various different types of articles with equal effect;

. What/I claim andsdesire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

, '1."A" vending machine comprising a casing, a

partition in said casingydownwardlyinclineditopward the front, formingyan article magazine, a delivery passageway leading from said magazine and, terminating below said partition in'a receptacle, a vertically reciprocable-delivery member 'adjacent said passageway, acarriage at the upper end of. said-deliverymember adapted to normally lie adjacent the forward extremity of 'said partition and receive the foremost article f ed by gravity from the latter, and means for reciprocating said delivery member, the upward movement :of

said delivery member causing said foremost :article to be elevated to a'positionwabovethe-adjacent row of articles on said. partition and-piermitting the article next in line to advance by gravity "to a position substantially beneath a .portion of said elevated article; whereby :upon the return movement of said delivery member, said elevated articleiabuts said article next inaline and is dislodged, from said carriage; andideposited in said delivery passageway.

2. A vending machine comprising partition 'in. saidcasing, downwardlyinclined toward the front, forming an 'article magazine, -a;delivery;passageway=1eading from :said magazine and terminatingcbelow :said partition in a receptacle, a vertically reciprocableldelivery member restricting a mention 'of said passageway, a carriage at the upper end of said delivery member adapted to normally lie adjacent the forwardextremity of said partition and receive the iforemos't :arti'cle :fed-by. gravity from the latter, means for reciprocating said delivery member whereby the upward movement of. said member. causes said foremost article to be elevatedi toaposition above the adjacent row of articles on 'said-martition, permitting the article 'next in =line to advance by gravity to a position substantially beneath :a portion of said elevated article, the returnmovemerit of "said delivery member causing said ele- ,vated article to abut saidarticle next-in:line,-'dis- Judging the former from said carriage'zandide- .pbsitingthe same. in :said delivery passageway,

a casing, a

and means 'on said delivery :member adapted to .receive the lowermost article in saidpassageway on the up-stro'ke' and deliver the same-to said 3. A vending machine comprising a casing, a partition. in said casingydownwardly'inclined toward-the front, forming an article magazinaa delivery passageway leading from said magazine and terminating below saidgpartition in a receptacle, the mouth of "said :passage'w'ay being restrict'ed, a vertically recipr'ocable deliverymember adjacent said passageway sand'forming; one. wall thereof, a carriage at the upper end of said delivery member adapted to normally lie adjacent the forward extremity of said partition-and receive the foremost article fed by gravity from the latter, a recess in said delivery member adjacent said passageway and adapted to normally lie below the restricted mouth of the latter, and means for reciprocating said delivery member, the upward movement of said member causing said foremost article to be elevated to a position above the adjacent row of articles on said partition and permitting the article next in line toadvance by gravity to a position substantially beneath a portion of said elevated article, whereby upon the return movement of said delivery member, said elevated article abuts said article next in line and is dislodged from said carriage and deposited in said delivery passageway, said upward movement simultaneously bringing said recess to a point adjacent the restricted portion of said passageway to permit the delivery of an article therefrom upon the down-stroke of said delivery member.

4.-A vending machine comprising a casing, a partition in said casing, downwardly inclined toward the front, forming an article magazine, a

delivery passageway leading from said magazine and terminating below said partition in a receptacle, stationary means for restricting one side of the mouth of said passageway, a vertically movable member for restricting the opposite side of said mouth, means for moving said last named member past said stationary restriction to enlarge said passageway, a carriage at the upper end of said movable member adapted to normally lie adjacent the forward extremity of said partition and receive the foremost article fed by gravity from the latter, and means on said carriage for normally preventing articles from said part1 movement of said carriage elevating the article carried thereby to a position above the adjacent row of articles on said partition and permitting the article next in line to advance by gravity to a position substantially beneath a portion of said elevated article, whereby upon the return movement of said carriage, said elevated article abuts said article next in line and is dislodged from said carriage and deposited in said passageway.

5. A vending machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein said movable member is of less thickness than that of the article carried thereby and is mounted in suitable guideways.

6. A vending machine comprising a casing, a partition in said casing, downwardly inclined toward the front, forming an article magazine, a delivery passageway leading from said magazine and terminating below said partition in a receptacle, a vertically reciprocable delivery member tion, from entering said passageway, the upward adjacent said passageway, the upp r end of which is adapted to normally lie adjacent the forward extremity of said partition and to receive the foremost article fed by gravity from the latter, and means for reciprocating said delivery member, the upward movement of said delivery member causing said foremost article to be elevated to a position above the adjacent row of articles on said partition and permitting the article next in line to advance by gravity to a position substantially beneath a portion of said elevated article, whereby upon the return movement'of said delivery member, said elevated article abuts said article next in line and is forced off of said delivery member and deposited in said delivery passageway.

CHARLES WALKER.

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