US1951239A - Article dispenser - Google Patents

Description

March 13, 1934. FRIEL 1,951,239

ARTICLE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 29. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l (Ki F ZEZ or am ,zr-rm wax: u m

March 13, 1934. J. J. FRIEL ARTICLE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 29, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 13, 1934. J FR|E| ARTICLE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 29, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates to the class of dispensers and pertains particularly to a machine for dispensing articles of a cylindrical character, particularly bottles of soft drinks.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an article dispenser designed for operation by a coin or slug and in which the weight of the coin or slug operates to release a holder of a single article so as to permit the holder to be shifted for the discharge of the contents thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a dispenser of the character described a novel mechanism controlled by a coin or slug for the release and discharge of a single article.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in a dispenser of the character herein set forth, a coin or slug actuated latch which is controlled by the weight of the coin or slug inserted to release a holder of a single article and which is sodesigned as to be made to discharge the coin or slug as the article leaves the dispenser, the latch then resetting itself to prevent the discharge of another article until a second coin or slug is inserted.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel mechanism for indicating at all times the number of articles remaining in the dispenser.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel means for preventing the insertion of a coin or slug into the control mechanism after the last of the articles has been discharged.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed or modified so long as such'changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the structure embodying the present invention, taken substantially upon the line 1-1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken upon the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical and longitudinal section through the front part only of the dispenser showing the position of each of the various parts at the moment of the discharge of an article;

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view in rear elevation of the coin slot closing device and means for operating the same, parts adjacent thereto being broken away;

Figure '7 is a sectional view taken substantially upon the line 7-7 of Figure 1; Figure 8 is a view in front elevation of the indicator tool, a portion of the cover glass being broken away;

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 8. 79

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 1 indicates the bottom of a cabinet which is indicated generally by the numeral 2- in which the dispenser mechanism embodying the present invention is housed, this cabinet 2 having a front wall 3 upon which a part of the mechanism is mounted and a removable top or cover 4 for giving access to the mechanism within the housing.

While no means has been illustrated by which bottled goods may be kept cold while in the dispenser, it is, of course, to be understood that the housing 2 may contain in addition to the mechanism about to be described, any suitable means for keeping the contents of the mechanism cold when this is desirable.

Mounted upon the bottom of one of the receptacles or in any other suitable manner therein are article carrying trays 5 and 6. In the structure disclosed, these trays are mounted between uprights '7 and the lower tray 5 is disposed at an inclination so that the forward end thereof will be disposed at a lower elevation than the rear end v5 and the upper tray is disposed at the opposite inclination so that the rear end, which terminates forwardly of the rear end of the lower tray 5, will be in position to discharge articles onto the rear end of the lower tray as will be readily understood. The rear end of the lower tray 5 has a guard 8 extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom against which articles leaving .the rear end of the upper tray will strike and by which they will be guided into the lower tray to gravitate toward the open forward end thereof. It will, of course, be understood that although only two article carrying trays have been illustrated a larger number may be employed and in addition it is to be understood that the invention is not to be confined to the particular means here shown and described for feeding the articles to the discharge mechanism as it will be apparent that other means may be employed.

At the dicharge end of the bottom tray 5 there are disposed at opposite sides thereof the upright supports 9 between which are disposed a receptacle 10 which is in the form of a semi-cylindrical trough. The ends of this receptacle are closed by the relatively thick disks l1 and 12 and the periphery of the disk 12 is provided with a notch 13 which is directed upwardly when the trough is in upwardly directed position or in position to receive a bottle orother article from the adjacent tray 5. As shown, the upper ends of the supports 9 are braced by arms 14 which form continuations of the adjacent sides of the tray 5 and have the trunnions 15 and 16 which are integral with the disks 12 and 11, engaged in the notches in the ends thereof. These trunnions are mounted in the upper ends of the supports 9 as is clearly shown.

At the end of the trough 10 opposite the notched disk 12 the trunnion 16 is extended into the elongated rearwardly and downwardly directed arm 17. This arm is in the rearwardly and down wardly directed position as shown in Figure 3, when the trough is in upright position. Secured to the trunnion 16 are the two fingers 18 and 19 which are oppositely directed and as shown the finger 19 has one end of a spring 20 attached thereto, the other end of which is secured to the base 1 of the structure at a point rearwardly of the trough so as to normally swing the trough in a clockwise direction.

The swinging movement of the trough is limited by the engagement of the finger 18 with a stop pin 21 which is mounted upon the adjacent upright 9 so that as will be readily apparent when the trough is oscillated in a counter-clockwise direction and released the spring 20 will bring it back to the proper position before the forward end of the tray 5 to receive an article therefrom, which position has been referred to as the upright position.

Disposed between the uprights 9 beneath the trough 10 is a bar 22 on which is pivotally mounted at its rear edge, a plate member 23 which extends forwardly to a point adjacent the front wall 3 of the casing. This plate is normally raised to the position shown in Figure 1 by a spring member 24 which is in the form of an elongated tongue, the rear end. of which is secured to the bottom 1 of the casing, While the forward end is free and tensioned to spring upwardly and thus raise the plate 23.

At the end of the trough 10 which is closed by the notched disk 12, there is positioned an upwardly and forwardly extending bracket arm 25 from which is pivotally suspended by means of the pivot pin 26, a coin operated latching element which is indicated generally by the numeral 27. This latching element is in the form of an elongated body and the pivot pin engages the same at substantially the transverse center and adjacent the top edge.

At the rear end the body is formed to provide the downwardly extending finger 28 and adjacent the finger the body is suitably enlarged as indicated at 29 to give sufficient weight to normally cause the finger to gravitate downwarily into contact with the peripheral edge of the disk 12 and engage in the notch 13 therein when the trough is in upright position, thus hold g h trough against rotation.

At the forward end the body 27 is cut away to form the downwardly and forwardly curving surface 30 which leads into the downwardly curved tongue-like forward end 31. The forward end of the body 2'. is encased in a fiat shell 32 which is open at its top and has its side walls pivotally attached adjacent the top, to the upper portion of the body as indicated at 33. These side walls extend upwardly on each side of the curved surface 30 of the body and thus form a trap for a coin dropped into the shell through the open top thereof and onto this curved surface. ihe wall connecting the forward edges of the shell 32 has an elongated opening 34 formed therein through which the extension 31 of the body 27 projects and this forward wall of the shell is extended downwardly a substantial distance below the side walls thereof to form the depending stop finger 35. The downward swinging movement of the shell 32 is limited by a stop pin 36 which is carried by the body 27 as illustrated in Figure 4.

It will be seen upon reference to Figure 4 that the forward part of the shell 32 normally gravitates downwardly untilstopped by the pin 36 and thus the opening 34 between the forward edges of the side walls thereof is reduced so that a coin of the size of a five cent piece when dropped into the open top of the shell onto the inclined surface 30 will be held from escaping through the forward opening 3 1. However, when the shell 32 is oscillated upwardly on its pivot 33 in the manner hereinafter to be described, the size of the opening 34 will be increased sufficiently to permit the coin to roll forward on the extension 31 and thus drop away from the latch body.

While the enlarged portion 29 serves to overbalance the rear end of the latch body 27 sufficiently to cause the latching finger 28 to engage in the notch 13, this balance is so adjusted that it will be overcome by a coin of the weight of a five cent piece when the same is deposited on the inclined surface 30 at the forward end of the latch body, and thus raise the latch finger 28 out of the notch. The operation of this portion of the mechanism will be hereinafter more fully d scribed.

Formed in the front wall 30f the casing is a coin opening 37 and leading from this opening to a point over the open top of the shell 32 of the latch mechanism, is a guide 33, the bottom of which is provided with an aperture 39 at the inner end which permits a coin moving therealong to drop through into the shell 32 onto the inclined surface 30 of the latch.

Extending through the front wall 3 of the casing is an end of an operatin lever 10 which is pivotaliy supported at a point adj acent its forward end upon a bracket 11 secured to the inner face of the front wall. This lever extends inwardly and downwardly across the trough operating arm 17 and has pivotally attached thereto the body 42 through which is formed an aperture to slidably receive the arm 1'7. t wili thus be seen that upon disengagement of the finger 23 from the notch of the disk 12 to release the trough 10, the trough may be oscillated in a counter-clockwise direction by depressing the forward outer end of the lever thus swinging the inner end upwardly and raising in an arcuate path the arm 17.

' Secured to the rear face of the front wall 3 in a suitable bracket such as is indicated by the nu moral a3 is the arm 44 of a bell crank lever which is indicated generally by the numeral 45. The pivotal connection between the bracket 43 and the arm 4 1 is adjacent the free end of the arm :be caused to oscillate uponthepivot by which it is connected with the bracket .43. Thefreeend of the other arm of the bell crank, which-isnormally directeddownwardly will thus be swung upwardly in an arcuate path. and this free end carries apin 4'7 which is slidably disposed in the slot 48 formed in the endof the bar 49 which; is disposed transversely of the, rear face of the front wall of the casing.

, This bar is pivotally attached at a point substantially midway between its ends,.by means of the pin 50, to a supporting bracket 51 and carries upon its other endv the depending pawl 52. The pawl carrying end 52 of the bar 49 rides behind an elongated guide plate 53 in the lower end of which is mounted one endof a shaft 54 which extends forwardly through the front wallof. the casingand supports before the front, wall and in a suitably closed housing such as is indicated by the numeral 55, a disk member 56. The, forward end of this shaft 54 is socketedas indicated at 57 to receive a key member by which the disk and associate mechanism may be rotated.

Between the plate 53-and thefront wall, 3 is a second guideplate 58 which is secured to the front wall in spaced relation therewith and which has the plate 53 attached thereto and extendingparallel therewith as shown. The shaft 54 passes through thisinner plate. 58 and interposed between it and the front wall upon the shaft.54 is a hub 59 which. carries a cam 60. Pivoted to the front wall at the point 61 is one end. offa horizontal arm 62 which extends parallel to the wall and overlies the hub 59. The lower edge of this arm is formed to provide a cam member 63 which is in the path of movement of the cam 60 so that the latter will raise the arm 62 when the hub 59 is sufficiently rotated. From the other end of this arm 62 there extends upwardly at a slight inclination from the vertical, a second arm 64'which terminates in a laterally directed finger 65.

This finger is directed toward the coin guide 38 and the sides of the. guide are provided with openings 66 through which the finger may extend when the arms are oscillated by the cam 60, and thus close the coin guide to prevent the insertion of a coin thereinto through the opening 37.

Mounted upon the shaft 54 between the guide plates 53 and 58, is a ratchet wheel 67 which is in position to have one of its teeth engaged by the pawl 52- each time the bar 49 is oscillated by the bell crank 45. A suitable spring member 68 is normally in contact with the toothed edge of the ratchet wheel to prevent its counter-clockwise rotation.

The lower part of the front wall 3 has an opening 69 therethrough which is normally closed by the door '70 which is pivotally mounted on the wall as indicated at 71, this door remaining closed by the action of gravity. Disposed in frontof the opening 69 is a tray '72'which receives a bottle or other article as it is released by the 'mechanism and passes through the door opening.

The plate 23 carries at one side the upwardly extending coin release arm '73 which is. disposed behind the stop finger of the latchmechanism and engages the same in the manner illustrated in Figure '7 as it is swung forwardby the downward swinging movement of the plate.

This coin releasing arm is slightly curved soas to have sliding contactwith the. stop finger 35 and aswill be readily seen upon referring to Figure 4,. it operates in the nature of a cam to' swing theshell 32 upwardly and thus allow the o o. es a e h ref om.

At the end of the trough Iii-adjacent the latch member 2'7 there is threadably attached to, a suitablesupport such as the arm '75, a movement limiting screw 7 6 for the latch 2'7.v As will be seen this screw when properly adjustedpermits the fingerca frying end of the latch to, swing upwardly only a sufficient distance to clear the periphery .of the disk 12.

In. the. operation of the. present article dispenserthe articles, as for example, bottles of soft drink, are arranged upon the supply trays 5 and 6 in the manner shown in Figure 1 and one thereof is disposedin the troughlll. The indicator disk 56. is then rotated by means of a suitable key. inserted in the socket 57 to bring the numeral 24 beneath the pointer '74 to thus indicate the presence in the dispenser of twenty-four bottles, or other articles. It will, of. course, be understood that if the dispenser is designed to hold more or lessarticles the indicator disk will be gravitated accordingly.

Upon the insertion of a suitable coin or slug into the opening 37 the same will gravitate downwardly and draw into the shell 32 and be re tained thereby upon the curved surface 30 of the latchbody 2'7.

As previously explained the latch body is so balanced that the coin will then cause it to oscillate uponits pivot 26 and raise the finger 28 from the notch 13. The trough 10 is then free tobe oscillated in acounter-clockwise direction or toward the front of the dispenser and this oscillation is caused by the depression of the outer end of the lever. and the raising of the arm 1'7 in the manner previously described. When the trough is oscillated the article therein will be dumped out upon the plate 23 which will be depressed by the weight of-the article so as to incline downwardly and forwardly toward the opening 69 through which the article will run into the receptacle, 72. Upon the depression of the plate the arm '73 will raise the coin retaining shell 32 and allow the coin to roll off of the end of the latch through the opening 34 so that when the plate 23 is returned to its raised position by the spring 24 the latch will oscillate back to its former position of contact with. the notched disk, 12 so that when the trough is returned to its position by the spring 20 the finger will engage in the notch 13 and thus hold the trough against further movement until another coin is inserted.

When the lever 40 is depressed for the oscillation of the trough lOthe bar 49 will be caused to oscillate so that the pawl 52 carried thereby will engage one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 6'7 and thus turn the same and the disk 56 to bring the disk into a position to indicate therejection of the number of articles in the dispenser by one.

As the last article is discharged from the receptacle the cam will be moved into position beneath the cam 63 by the turning of the ratchet wheel andthus oscillate the arm 64 to move the end thereof into the aperture 66 and thus close the coin opening.

The ratchet wheel 6'? will have a greater number of teeth by one than the number of articles indicated upon the disk 56 and where the machine isdesigned to carry twenty-f our articles when the pawl 52 engages the twenty-fifth tooth the cam 60- will. be brought to raise under and in engagement with the cam 63 so. as tomainluxc tain the finger in the position previously described. The disk 56 will then be moved so that the pointer '74 will indicate an intermediate position between one and twenty-four and thus when the machine is again filled it will be set ready for operation by turning the disk one point or to the point 24, which movement of the disk will shift the cam 60 beyond the cam 63 and thus uncover the coin opening.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In an article dispenser, an article carrier, means for receiving a single article from the carrier, an operating element for effecting the discharge of the article from said means, a balanced latch normally acting to prevent the operation of said means by said element but releasing the said means when unbalanced by the deposit thereon of an element of the proper weight, and means actuated by the article as it is discharged from the dispenser for effecting the removal of said last element from the latch.

2. An article dispenser, comprising means for carrying a plurality of articles from which the same move by gravity, an oscillatable trough member arranged adjacent the carrier and designed to receive a single article, said trough having a circular end member provided with a notch in its edge, a latch element comprising an elongated body pivotally suspended intermediate its ends and having a finger upon one end normally engaging in said notch, said latch member having its other end formed to receive a coin by the weight of which it is oscillated to remove the finger from the notch, shiftable means normally maintaining said coin on the latch member, means for rotating said trough for the discharge of an article therefrom, and means operated by the article upon its discharge from the trough for moving said coin retaining means to permit its escape from the pivoted member.

3. An article dispenser comprising an article carrier from which the articles are discharged by gravity, a rotatably mounted receiver adjacent said carrier and designed to receive a single article therefrom, an oscillatably mounted latch element having a finger and weighted to normally cause said finger to swing downwardly for engagement with 'a portion of said receiver to prevent the turning of the same, means forming a part of said latch element and arranged upon the opposite side of the pivot point thereof from said finger to receive a disk element, said latch element being oscillated by the weight of the disk to disengage said finger from the receiver, said last means including an oscillatable element which normally retains the disk in position but releases the same upon being shifted to one position, a lever element for oscillating said receiver, and a pivoted member arranged to have an article discharge thereon from the receiver and adapted to be depressed by the article, said pivoted member operating to shift the pivoted el ment of the coin receiving means to release the coin therefrom.

4. In an article dispenser of the character described, a casing having a front wall provided with'an outlet opening, a carrier within the casing designed to receive a number of articles from which the same are discharged by gravity, a trough member oscillatably mounted before said carrier to receive articles singly therefrom, means for oscillating said trough member, a plate pivotally mounted before said trough and normally substantially horizontally disposed in a plane above said outlet opening, said plate being depressed by the discharge of an article from the trough thereonto from which the article gravitates to the opening, and latching means normally maintaining said trough against rotation and adapted to release the trough upon the application of a suitable element thereto.

5. In an article dispenser of the character described, a casing having a front wall provided with an outlet opening, a carrier within the casing designed to receive a number of articles from which the same are discharged by gravity, a trough member oscillatably mounted before said carrier to receive articles singly therefrom, means for oscillating said trough member, a plate pivotally mounted before said trough and normally substantially, horizontally disposed in a plane above said outlet opening, said plate being depressed by the discharge of an article from the trough thereonto from which the article gravitates to the opening, a pivotally mounted latch element normally preventing the oscillation of the trough, means forming a part of the latch element for receiving a suitable element by the weight of which the latch is oscillated to release he trough, and a member carried by said plate operating to free the said suitable member from the latch element when the plate is depressed by the deposit of an article thereon.

6. In an article dispenser, an article carrier having a discharge end, an oscillatable trough disposed adjacent said discharge end to receive a single article therefrom, an oscillatable balanced latch having a finger, means connected with the trough and engaged by saidfinger to normally retain the trough against oscillation, said latch having a coin receiving recess and being unbalanced by the deposit of a coin in the recess to disengage the finger from said means, a movable element carried by the latch to retain the coin in the recess, means for oscillating the trough to discharge an article therefrom, and means operating with the discharge of the article from the trough to shift the movable element to discharge the coin from the recess. 1

'7. An article dispenser, comprising a casing having an outlet opening, an article carrier within the casing having a discharge end, an oscillatable receiver at the discharge end of the carrier to receive an article therefrom, latch means normally retaining the receiver against oscillation, means for inserting a coin into the casing,

said latch being designed to be actuated by an inserted coin to release the receiver, an oscillatable element normally guarding the outlet of the cabinet and adapted to be oscillated to a discharge position by an article deposited thereon from the receiver to permit the escape of the article through the outlet, and means operating with the discharge of an article from the receiver to reset said latch into receiver holding position.

8. An article dispenser, comprising a casing having an outlet opening, an article carrier within the casing having a discharge end, an oscillataible receiver at the discharge end of the carrier to receive an article therefrom, an oscillatably mounted balanced latch, a finger carried by the latch, means forming a part of said receiver for engagement by said finger to retain the receiver against oscillation, said latch having a coin receiving recess therein and being overbalanced by a coin deposited in the recess to disengage the finger from said means, means for directing a coin into the recess, an element pivotally mounted upon the latch to retain a coin in the recess, a

plate member pivotally mounted at an elevation below the receiver and normally resiliently retained in a position to guard the outlet opening of the casing, said plate member being designed to receive an article discharged from the receiver and to be swung downwardly thereby to permit the article to pass through the outlet opening, and means carried by the plate member whereby upon the downward movement of the latter the pivoted member carried by the latch will be shifted for the release of the coin from the latch recess to permit the latch finger to reengage the first mentioned means.

9. A dispenser for cylindrical bodies, comprising a casing having an outlet opening, a pair of oppositely inclined troughs in the casing in which the cylindrical articles are placed, the upper one of said troughs discharging at its lower end into the upper end of the underlying trough, an oscillatable receiver trough disposed transversely of the lower end of the lower one of the first troughs, an elongated latch member pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and having a finger at one end normally engaging and holding said trough against oscillation, said latch member at its other end being formed to provide a coin receiving recess, an oscillatable element onto which the articles are discharged from the oscillatable trough,

means for oscillating the oscillatable trough, means for inserting a coin into the latch recess whereby the latch will be overbalanced to release the finger from the trough, and means operating upon the shifting of the oscillatable member by the deposit of an article thereon from the oscillatable trough to release the coin from the latch recess, the said oscillatable member when shifted by an article thereon operating to direct the article to the discharge opening.

10. In an article dispenser, a casing having an outlet opening, an article carrier within the casing having a discharge end, means operable to discharge articles singly from the carrier toward said outlet opening, co-in released means normally holding said last means against operation, said coin released means being designed to retain a coin until a single article has been discharged toward the outlet opening, an oscillatable guard plate resiliently held in a position between the outlet opening and the article discharging means and oscillated by the discharge of an article thereonto to permit the article to gravitate toward the outlet opening, and a finger carried by said .plate operating to effect the release of the coin from the latch mechanism when the plate is depressed by the weight of an article thereon.

JOHN J. FRIEL.

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