US1573037A - Vending machine - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 16,1926.

R. c. BRADLEY VENDING MAQHINE Filed March '5, 1924 2 She ets-Sheut 1 luvmtoa R/c/qard Cam/q Feb. 16 1926. 1,573,037

R. c. BRADLEY VENDING momma Filed March 5. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .11mi? 3 l0}*'- 3/ 39 v I i8 3 4 n/ 42 Patented Feb. 16, i926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD C. BRADLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE AS- SIGNMENTS, TO IBENJ'. W. GAMMON & COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VENDING MACHINE.

Application filed March 5, 1924. Serial No. 697,017.

1 '0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, RICHARD (l. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a vending ma chine, and relates more particularly to a coin controlled vending machine; and has special reference to the provision of a vending machine and display device for dispensing pencils or like articles.

A prime desideratum of my present invention comprehends the provision of a vending or dispensing machine especially designed and constructed for vending relatively elongated articles such as pencils or the like, with the parts of the machine organized and arranged to produce a compact and attractive structure. A correlative object of the invention relates to the provision of a vending machine of this nature in which a plurality of dispensing units are coordinated into a compact organization for selectively dispensing or vending any of a plurality of different grades or kinds of articles.

A further principal object of my present invention centers about the provision of a combined display device and dispensing machine constructed and designed for informingly displaying in an attractive manner the different articles contained in the machine, and for permitting rapid selection and dispensing of the articles from the machine.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter particularly described and sought to be defined in the claims; reference being bad to the accompanying drawings which show a preferred embodiment of my invention, and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the vending machine and display device showing the manner of vending or dispensing the articles therefrom,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a view taken in cross-section on the line 3--3, Fig. 2, showing the parts in normal position,

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the coin controlled mechanism depicting the operation thereof in the absence of a'coin, 1 Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the coin controlled mechanism showing the operation thereof when a coin is inserted in the machine,

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line ,6-6, Fig. 2, showing'the operation of the 'coin controlled mechanism,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 7-7, Fig. 3,.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectiona view taken on the line 88, Fig. 3,

Fig. 9 is a detail view of controlled mechanism,

part of the coin Fig. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 10 -10, Fig. 3, and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a detail.

As heretofore mentioned, one of the principal objects of my present invention comprehends the provision of a vending machine or dispensing device having special adaptability for dispensing or vending relatively elongated articles such as pencils or the like. Viewed from one of itsgeneric aspects, my present invention centers about the provision of a vending or dispensing machine in which the articles to be dispensed or vended are fed or expelled from the machine in a direction lengthwise of the article, the machine being adapted especially, although not necessarily limited,

compartments, each compartment or maga- '17 of the unit.

zine defining a unit for holding a plurality such as a stack of articles-and selectively dispensing the same individually; and in the present exemplification of my invention, there is shown provided four such units as sembled to form the complete machine shown in perspective in Fig. 1. For purposes of convenient illustration and description, the structure of one such unit is depicted in detail in Figs. 2 to 10 of the drawings, it being understood that each of the other units of the vending machine is similarly constructed.

In accomplishing the generic object of the invention, I provide means for selecting an article of the group or stack contained in a unit and for moving the same into a discharge position, after which the article is forcibly ejected through a discharge aperture in a direction lengthwise of the article, the discharge being preferably so effected that the article is only partially expelled, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and supported in position where the same may be manually removed by the operator.

For selecting the articles individually from the stack and fornioving the same into thedischarge position ready for expulsion, I preferably provide a carrier in the form of a turret or drum 11 which may be made from sheet material with a plurality of circumferentially arranged fins 12, 12 struck up therefrom to provide a plurality of circumferentially arranged pockets 18, 13, each pocket being adapted for receiving and seating an article such as the pencil 1 1. The drum 11 is provided with a shaft 15 which is journalled in the opposite walls 16 and 17 of a unit and preferably by means of the re-. movable pins 18 and 19 (see Fig. 3) receivable by the ends of the shaft 15, the latter being preferably made tubular or hollow for this purpose, this construction permitting rapid assembling and removal of the drum 11. j

The drum 11 constituting the means for selecting an article and carrying the same to a discharge position is partially rotated so as to move a pencil 14 from the position shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings to the discharge position shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings; and in the latter positionthe pencil 14L is in alinement with a discharge aperture or opening 20 (see particularly Figs. 1, 7 and 8) provided in the front wall For effecting the partial rotation of the drum ll, I provide a. toothed or ratchet member 21 fixed to the sleeve shaft 15 and a' plate element 22 forming apawl, the'said plate element loosely engaging the shaft 15, the said pawl being urged against the ratchet or toothed member 21 by means of a spring 23 seated between the plate element and a fixed flange 2a. The plate shaped pawl member 22 is provided during the partial rotation of the drum and the movement of the article to the discharge at one end with the tooth 22 (see particularly Figs. 2 and 7) coperating with the teeth of the ratchet 21 to produce a one-way movement upon oscillation of the pawl member, and is provided at the other end with a horizontally extending portion 22 having an orifice through which projects an operating stud 25, the latter being preferably formed integrally with an operating lever 26 fulcrumed at 27 on the base 28 of a unit or compartment, the said lever having a portion projecting from the front wall 17 of a unit and provided with a finger grasp or hold 29, the construction being such that when the lever is moved from one limiting position, as shown in Fig. 3, to the. other limiting position shown in Fig. 6, the pawl 22 operates the ratchet 21' to advance the drum for moving a. pencil to the discharge position heretofore referred to. For preventing the return movement of the drum, I preferably provide a second plate element 30 loosely surrounding the sleeve shaft 15, and having a portion 30 anchored in the side wall 31 of the unit so as to hold the said plate element stationary, the said plate element being provided with the oppositely arranged teeth 30 30' (see particularly Figs. 3 and 7) for engaging the ratchet 21,

the teeth 30 cooperating with the ratchet so as to permit forward and prevent backward rotation of the drum, the plate section 30 beiiig to this end resiliently urged in operative position by means of a spring 32 seated between the plate element 30 and an end of the drum 11. I

After the article is moved by the drum 1 v into the discharge position ready for expulsion from the container, the same is positively expelled from the container, as heretofore mentioned, in a direction lengthwise of the same; and to this end I provide an ejecting means which operates against an'end of the article when the latter is in the discharge position, the said ejecting means being preferably so constructed as to engagethe article by a sudden impact to more or less forcibly eject the same from the-container and through the discharge opening 20. In the preferred embodiment "of the invention, the said ejectingmeans comprises a longitudinally movable ejecting member which may be formed integrally with or attached to an arm 34, the said arm "forming part of the'lever fulcrulned on the bracket 35, the other arm of said lever comprising the leaf spring 36.

To produce the desired positive expulsion of the article from the container, the ejecting means is first placed under tension position, and is then suddenly released; and to accomplish thls, there is provided a res1l-- ient tensioning member 37 fixed to a wall 38 or" the container unit, which tensioning mem ber is acted upon by the lever 26 when the same is moved from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 6, and which in turn acts upon the spring arm 36 for placing the ejecting means under tension. During the partial rotation of the drum, the ejecting means is restrained from move ment by means of a holding member 39 fixed to the lever 26, the said holding member being provided with a downwardly turned linger portion adapted to engage and ride over the edge 34-. of the arm 34: during the period of partial rotation of the drum and to more into a cut-away portion 35t provided in said arm 3% when the drum has completed its partial rotation, the const-ruction and operation being such that when the holding member 39 assumes the position shown in Fig. 6, the ejecting means being then under tension, is suddenly actuated against an end of .the article let to eject the same by sudden impact.

For moving the parts back to normal position, the lever 26 is provided with an extension 26 which acts against the edge 34 of the arm 34. for returning the latter from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 3, and during this movement the holding member 39 is freed from engagement with the arm 3% by the movementof the linger {10 thereof over an incline 34 of the arm 34:, the holding member 89 being preferably made of a resilient material to permit of such operation In the embodin'ient of my invention illus-- trated in the drawings, the dispensing machine is made in the form of a coin controlled a iparatus; and to this end the construction includes means for permitting operation of the lever 26 only upon the insertion of a coin of the correct denomination into the machine. struction, the coin controlled mechanism comprises an arm 41 pivoted at 42 on the base or bottom wall 28 of the unit, the said arm being provided with a spring 43 anchored against the wall 17 for normally urging the arm clockwise as viewed 1n Fig. 3 to 6. V The cperating lever 26 is provided with a coin chute er arranged to register with a coin slot provided in the unit wall 1? when the parts are in normal position as shown in Fig. 3. The arm ll is provided with a forwardly extending finger portion 46 which is ada 'ited to move through a cutaway l? provided in the coin chute l l, as clearly shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings, the said linger being provided with a downwardly 'iurned member 4:8 which. is accommodated by a cut-away 1-9 in the arm 26. The arm 'tl also provided with a forwardly extending stop finger 50 preferably made in ratchet form and designed to cooperate with an upstanding tooth 51 formed prefer- In the preferred con-.

ably integrallywith the operating lever 26. The parts normally assume the position shownin Fig. 3, and the construction such that when the operating lever 26 is moved without the insertion of a coin, the downwardly turned member 1-8 rides against the edge of the cut-away 49 so that the upturned tooth 51 engages the stop finger 50, preventing further operation of the lever as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. If hmvever, a coin of the correct denomination is received by the chute 44, when the lever to is operated the arm ll is prevented by the coin 52 from moving into the position shown in Fig. 4 so that the upstanding tooth 51 is not engaged by the stop finger 50, and is freeto move in the space or cut-away be tween the lingers 46 and 50 of the arm ll, pern'iitting continued movement of the opcrating lever 26 to theposition shown in Fig. where the coin 52 drops into a chute S3 registering with the chute 44.

l. have found it desirable to obstruct or prevent the insertion of a coin into the machine when the container is empty or when the apparatus fails to select an article for movement into the discharge position; and to this endl provide means controlled by the position of a selected article for obstructing or freeing the passage of a coin into the slot 4C5. Referring particularly to F igs. '4' and .8 of the drawings the said means comprises a lever 54. attached to the wall 31 by means of the securing element 55 so as te permit a small angular movement thereof, the said lever comprising a short arm 56 adapted to be engaged by the pencil ll when the same is moved into the position shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings, and con'iprising further an arm 57 having a portion 57 for obstructing or clearing the slot 45. When an article such as a pencil 14 is properly selected and positioned, as shown in Fig. 8. so that during the next partial rotation of the drum the same will be moved into the discharge position, the lever 5% is caused to assume the position shown in FigQ'S so as to permit the insertion of a coin for the next operation. lf, however, the pencil isnot properly selected, the arm gravitationally moves to the position shown in Fig. 7, obstructing preventing the insertion of a coin.

lVith the n'ovision of the above described constructioi'i, it will be seen that by expelling or ejecting the article in a direction lengthwise of the same, I am enabled to effect a compact organization. it being only neces sary to provide a discharge opening having cress-sectional dimensions substantially the ie as the cross-sectional dimension of the articles to be dispensed. lVith this compact organization, I am furthermore enabled to combine a plurality of units into a machine for dispensing or vending any of a the slot and i plurality of differing articles to produce a relatively compact multiple unit device.

Thus in the Construction exemplified in Fig. 1 of the drawings, four of such units are combined to produce the complete dispensing machine in which the discharge orifices 20 are arranged in alinement, all in the front wall of the casing C, and the operating levers -26, 26 all arranged for convenient access at the front of the machine below the discharge orifices so that when a lever is operated as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the article will be freely expelled from the opening in a partial manner and positioned to be removed by the operator.

As heretofore mentioned, a further desideratum of the present invention centers about the provision of a combined dispensing machine and display device. To accomplish this, the front wall of the casing C is provided with the indicia 58 identifying the kind and quality of the article to be dispensed, and the casing C is further provided with a preferably inclined top wall 59 having specimens of the differing articles in the compartments eXposedly attached thereto and positioned thereon, each specimen identifying in display fashion the character of the article held by its respective compartment, compartments or sections a, b, 0 and d being identified respectively by the specimens 59, 60, 61 and 62.

For receiving the coins, the machine is provided with a till or coin receptacle 63 having a bottom and side walls, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the cover for said till being provided by a telescopic section 64c attached to the bottom wall of the mechanism units, the till and the telescopic section being shaped to form the base for the machine to enhance the appearance of the same. For locking the coin receptacle or till to the casing C. the till is provided with horizontally extending tongues 65, 65 (see particularly Figs. 2 and 11) which are received by the hook shaped elements 66 forming part of the casing walls, a lock 67 having a bolt 68 being provided for wedging the hook shaped element 66 into the tongue 65 upon locking the same. When the lock 67 is openeththe telescopic cover 64: and the till 68 may be moved laterally one with respect to the other, and thereafter the casing C may be moved forwardly to free the hook shaped element 66 from the tongue 65, slots 69 being provided in the telescoping cover to permit of the desired motion.

The use and operation of my coin controlled vending machine will in the main be fully apparent from the above detailed description thereof. It will be further apparent that substantially all of the parts of the machine may be fashioned from sheet material so that the same may be manufactured at a low cost, and that the parts are so arranged and organized as to permit a rapid assembling and disassembling for purposes of repair and replacement of the )arts.

WVhile I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it will be obvious that many other changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine for receiving a stack of elongated articles, the said casing having a wall provided with a discharge opening, rotatable mechanism in said casing operative for selecting the articles individually from said magazine, for carrying the same to a position for discharge thru said opening and for holding the same in said discharge position, means operative against an end of the so-positioned article for positively ejecting the same thru the discharge opening in a direction lengthwise of the article, and means for coordinately operating the selecting mechanism and the ejecting means.

A pencil vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine for receiving a stack of pencils, the said casing having a wall provided with adischarge opening having dimensions substantially that of the cross-sectional area of a pencil, rotatable mechanism in said casing operative for selecting the pencils individually from said magazine for carrying the same to a position for discharge thru said opening and for holding the same in such discharge position, means for positively ejecting the so-positioned pencil thru the discharge opening in a direction lengthwise of the same, and means including a manually manipulable device for coordinately operating the selecting mechanism and the ejecting means.

3. A vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine for receiving a stack of elongated articles, the said casing having a wall provided with a discharge opening,

rotatable mechanism in said casing opera tive for selecting the articles individually from said magazine, for carrying the same to a position for discharge thru said opening and for holding the same in such discharge position, means operative against the rear end of the so-positioned article for posi tively ejecting the same thru the discharge opening in a direction lengthwise of the article, and means including a. finger lever located below said discharge opening for coordinately operating the selecting mechanism and the ejecting means.

4. A pencil vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine for receiving a quantity of pencils stacked both laterally and in elevation, the said casing having a wall provided with a discharge opening, mechanism in said casing operative for selecting the pencils individually from said magazine stack, for moving the same to a position for discharge thru said opening and for holding the same in such discharge position, means for positively ejecting the so-positioned pencil thru thd discharge opening in a direction lengthwise of the pencil, and means for coordinately operating the selecting mechanism and the ejecting means.

5. A vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine for receiving a stack of elongated articles, the said casing having a wall provided with a discharge opening, a rotary carrier operative for selecting the articles individually from said magazine, for carrying the same to a position for dis charge thru said opening and for holding the same in such discharge position, and ejecting means operative against an end of the so-positioned article for ejecting the same thru said discharge opening in a direction lengthwise of the article.

6. A pencil vending machine comprising a casing laving a magazine for receiving a stack of pencils, the said casing having a wall provided with a discharge opening, a

rotary carrier operative for selecting the pencils individually from said magazine, for carrying the same to a position for discharge thru said opening and for holding the same in such discharge position, ejecting means for ejecting the so-positione-d pencil thru said discharge opening in a direction lengthwise of the same, and means for coordinately operating the carrier and the ejecting means operative to first impart a partial rotation to the carrier with a selected pencil thereon and for then operating the ejecting means.

7. A vending machine comprising a container for holding a plurality of relatively elongated articles, the said container being provided with a wall having a discharge opening, movable means for positioning and holding an article for ejection from the container through said opening, an ejecting means operative against an end of the article so positioned for ejecting the same through said opening in a direction lengthwise of the article, and mechanism for coordinately operating the positioning means and the ejecting means, the said mechanism including a finger lever located below the said discharge openin 8. A vending machine comprising a containerhaving a magazine for holding a plurality of articles, a rotatable drum carrier provided with a plurality of peripherally arranged pockets for selectively receiving the articles individually from said magazine and for positioning and holding the same for ejection from the container, and a longitudinally movable ejecting member operative against an end of the article so positioned for expelling or ejecting the same from the container in a direction lengthwise of the article.

9. A vending machine comprising a container having a magazine for holding a plurality of articles, a rotatable drum carrier provided with a plurality of peripherally arranged pockets for selectively receiving the articles individually from said mag? azine and for positioning and holding the same for ejection from the container, and a longitudinally movable ejecting member operative against an endof the article so positioned for expelling or ejecting the same from the container in a direction lengthwise operating the carrier and the ejecting member operative to first impart a partial rotation to the carrier with a selected article thereon, and for then operating the ejecting member.

10. A vending machine comprising a container for holding a plurality of articles, a rotary carrier for positioning and holding an article for expulsion from the container, an ejecting means operative against an end of the article so positioned for expelling the same from the container in a direction lengthwise of the article, and mechanism including a manually manipulable finger lever located below said carrier for coordinately operating the carrier and the ejecting means by first operating the carrier and placing the ejecting means under tension during such operation, and by releasing the ejecting means after the article is positioned for of the article, and means for coordinately expulsion so that the ejecting means strikes the end of the article by sudden impact.

11. A pencil vending machine comprising a container having a magazine for holding a stack of pencils, a rotatable drum carrier for selecting a pencil from the stack and for positioning and holding the same for ejection from the container, a longitudinally movable ejecting means operative against an end of the pencil so positioned for expelling the sam from the container, and mechanism for coordinately operating the drum and the ejecting means by first rotating the drum a partial revolution to position the pencil and simultaneously placing the ejecting means under tension, and by then releasing the ejecting means so that the same is actuated by sudden impact against the end of the pencil.

12. A pencil vending machine comprising a container having a magazine for holding a stack of pencils, a rotatable, drum carrier for selecting a pencil from the stack and for positioning and holding the same for ejection from the container, a longitudinally movable ejecting means operative against an end of the pencil so positioned for expelling the same from the container, and mechanism including a manually manipulable finger lever located below said carrier and projecting through said container for coordinately operating the drum and the ejecting means by first imparting .to the drum a partial rotation to position the penoil and simultaneously placing the ejecting ineans under tension, and by then releasing Signed New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 3rd day of March A. D. 1924.

RICHARD C. BRADLEY.

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