Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BAC}CGROUND OF THE INVENTION
.
Use o~ helical coil in vending machines as a means
for ~ransporting an item to ~e vended from a location within
the machine to a point o aischarge ~rom the machine, ~ rota-
tio~ of the vending coil has long been ~nown. See for example
U.S~ Patent No. 3,269,595. Typically, the vending coil has
been used in conjunction with a horizontal support tray, wherei~
- t~e item to be vended is placed within the windings o~ ~he
~ending coil and is supported ~y ~he tray. By rotating the
1o venaing coil, the item to be ven~ed is longitudinall~ advanoe~
along the tray, u~der for~e xom the windings of the vending
. coil until it reaches ~he f~ont end o~ the txay. Upon further
rotation of the vendIng coil, the item to be vended i5 forced
o~er the eage of ~ e tra~ and fa~ls lnto a discharge bin.
- Early prior art ~ending machines of.this~ typ~ were
..... . . . . .
con~igured to mount ~he support tray5 within the helical coil.
This con:Eiguration, however, was particularly susceptible to
pro}:~lems resultin~ ~en the package to b~ vended gotcaug~tke ween
th~ ~endin~ coiland t~ t:ray. Upon rea-::hing the front edge o:E
~he ~ra~ j rather than alling into ~he discharge bin, l:he items
so caught would haIlg-up at the ;~ront end of the vending coilO
th~s 3a~tmting t~ie ~oll discha~ge mechanism. Various ~echn~t~ues .
have been used to eliminate ~his type of problem, Fox the mos~
paxt, such techniques have incorporated mean~ for supporting
the vending coil ~bove the tray so as to pxevent the items
~eing ~ended from getting ~aught ~7een the vending co~l and
the tray. Further, to alleviate the j amming problem at the
.
.
- _ . ii~
discharge end of the coil, most prior art techniques included
extending the length of ~he vending coil significan~l~ pa~t
the en~ o the support tra~.
}lowever, ~uch prior ar~ techniques have caus d.prob-
lems o~ their own. The coil support means have typically taken
up space within the windings of the vending coil and have nece~-
sita~ea using lar~e support members, re~uiring signif~can~ly
more material, and thus increasing the cost of the mac~ine.
~ur~her t such techni~ues havP not totally sol~ed the problem -
of item~ being caught, si~ce o~tentimes the items being vended
will still lod~e between the Yendi~g coil and t~e suppor~
apparatus itsel~ thus jamming the coil discharge apparatus.
The pres.ent in~ention provides apparatus which ~inimizes ~he
above problems associated with prior art vendl~g machines.
Anothex disadvantage to many of the helical coil
type vending machines o~ the prior art is the incapab;li~y .
in such machines to inkerchange theix co,ils, If maximu~ u~e
is to be made of available tray area, diffe~e~tly sized C0115
are xequixea o~ it~ms.ha~i~g dif~erent package sizes~: The
pres~n~ invention contempla~es the use of at least two basic
coii sizes, one o.r item5 having larger, bulkie~ packages
such as pastries and potato chips, and a second for smaller -
less bu~ky packages of items such as candy bars.
Still another disad~antage of the helical coil ve~di~g
machines of the prior art is that with such devices, up~n .
reaching the discharg~ end of the tray, the item 'co be vend~d
does not always fall freel~ rom the tray. This is partiCularly
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troublesome with items having a relatively tall package
dimension. When such packages are slowly pushed forward
by the helical coil and dropped over the edge of the
support shelf, they tend ~o tip forward, rather than
falling straight down, and oftentimes become wedged
between the outer cabinet of the machine and the leading
edge of the support tray. Such a jam typically requires
- maintenance and, denies the purchaser of that item for
which he has paid. The present invention solves the
problem by providing a posi~ive item ejection apparatus.
5UMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, in accordance with one aspect of the
invention there is provided an improved support apparatus
for an elongate heli~al coil of the type used for dispensing
articles from dispensing machines, said coil being rigid,
having first and second longitudinally spaced ends, and
being rotable about its longitudinal axis, comprising;
a. a shelf member defining an upper shelf
surface;
b. an upright side panel projecting generally
vertically upward from said shelf surface
and longitudinally extending therealong in a
direction generally perpendicular to one
.
edge of said shelf surface; and
c. a coil support member projecting generally
vertically upward from said shelf surface
` with a portion of said coil support member
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being configured to define an elongate ramp
surface disposed above said shelf surface
and obliquely inclined to said shelf surface
in the longitudinal direction of said
coil, said ramp surEace being disposed
generally parallel to and spaced apart from
said side panel at a distance less than the
` outer diameter of a helical coil to be
supported by said support apparatus; whereby
said ramp surface and said side panels are
cooperatively operable to support the
helical coil therebetween only adjacent a
; first end of the coil, such that the lower
surface of said coil is disposed above and
spac.ed apart rom said shelf surface.
In accordance with another aspect of the inven-
tion, there is provided a dispensing machine of the type
having a plurality of dispensing units mounted in generally
parallel relationship to one another on a dispensing tray of
the machine, wherein the tray defines an upper shelf surface
and has a front edge at which items are dispensed from the
dispensing units, wherein at least one of the dispensing
units includes an elongate semi-rigid helical dispensing
coil havins longitudinally disposed first and second ends
defining an internal cylindrical zone therebe~ween and means
for selectively rotating the coil about its longitudinal
.; axis, wherein the rotation means includes a rotatab].e output
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shaft mounted for coaxial alignment with the helical coil,
the invention being characterized by improved mounting
apparatus for the helical dispensing coil, comprising:
a. a cross bracke~ member attached to the first end
of the dispensing coil, having a portion
thereof disposed across the diameter of the
coil;
. b. a cross-bracket holding member mounted to
the rotatable shaft for rotation therewith,
configured to cooperatively matingly engage
said cross-bracket member for detachably
rotatably mounting in quick-release manner
the first end of the coil for rotation
: thereof about its longitudinal axis, such
. 15 that the lower surace of the front end of
the coil is mounted above and 81 ightly spaced
apart ~rom the upper shelf surface of the
tray; and
c. support means mounted on the tray adjacent the
.:
front edge thereo for rotatably supporting
said coil adjacent only said second end there-
ofl said support means slidably ~upportingly
engaging the outer circumference of the
: coil such that the lower surface of the coil
is disposed above and slightly spaced
apart rom the shelf surface, and in a
manner enabling unimpeded dispensing of
~-4b-
ltems from the second end of the coil at
the front edge of the tray, wherein said
internal cylindrical zone is free of
obstruction along the longitudinal
length of said coil wherein said forwardly
disposed support means further comprises
: first and second support ramp members
mounted adjacent the front edge of the
tray and extending rearwardly therefrom in
a spaced apart generally parallel
manner, each of said first and second ramp
members being characterized by front and
rear portions wherein said rear portions
of said first and second xamp members are
angularly inclined from said shelf
surface upwardly in the longitudinal
direction of the front edge of the tray~
to upper coil support surfaces of each of
said f irst and second ramp members, and
wherein said front portion of said first
ramp member is disposed to project
~' outwardly from the front edge of the
tray and forward of said front portion
of said second ramp member said first
and second support members being configured
to supporkingly engage the coil only along
a short length thereof adjacent said second
c
:`~
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` end of said coils.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the
invention, there is provided a dispensing machine of
the type having a plurality of dispensing units mounted
in genera~ly parallel relationship to one another on a
dispensing tray of the machine, wherein the tray
defines an upper shelf surface and has a front edge at
which items are dispensed from the dispensing units,
wherein at least one of the dispensing units includes
; 10 an elongate semi-rigid helical dispensing coil having
longitudinally dispo~ed first and second ends defining
an internal cylindrical zone therebetween and means
for selectively rotating the coil about its longitudinal
. axis, wherein the rotation means includes a rotatable
output shaft mounted for coaxial alignment with the
helical coil, the invention being characterized by
improved mounting apparatus for the helical dispensing
coil, comprising:
a. a cross-bracket member attached to the first
.. ` ~ end of the dispensing coil, having a
portion thereof disposed across the
diameter of the coil;
~` b. a cross-brac~et holding member mounted
to the rotatable shaft for rotation
therewith, configured to cooperatively
matingly engage said cross-bracket
member for detachably rotatably mounting
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in quick release manner the first end of
the coil for rotation thereof about its
longitudinal axis, such that the lower
surface of the front end of the coil is
S mounted above and slightly spaced apart
Erom the upper shelf surface of the
tray; and
c. support means mounted on the tray adja-
cent the front edge thereof for rotatably
supporting said coil adjacent only said
second end thereof, said support means
slidably supportingly engaging the outer
circumference of the coil such that the
lower surf~ce of the coil is disposed
above and slightly spaced apart from the
:,
shelf surface, and in a manner enabling
unimpeded dispensing of items from the
second end of the coil at the front edge
of tha tray, wherein said internal
cylindrical zone is free of obstruction
along the longitudinal length of said
coil, wherein said forwardly disposed
support means comprises an upright side
panel projecting generally vertically
upward from the tray shelf surface and
- longitudinally extending therealong in a
direction generally perpendicular to the
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front edge of the tray, and a coil
suppor~ member projecting generally
vertically upward from the shelf surface
with a portion of said coil support
memb~r being configured to define an
elongate ramp surface disposed above the
shelf surface and obliquely inclined in
the longitudinal direction of said coil
- support member thereof, said ramp
surface being disposed generally parallel
; to and spaced apart from said side panel
;~ at a distance less than the outer
diameter of the helical coil, whereby
said ramp surface and side panel coopera-
tively support the helical coil there-
between such that the lower surface of
the coil is disposed above and spaced
apart from the shelf surface.
Th~ present invention solves the above problems
associated with prior art vending machines. This
invention includes coil support apparatus which minimizes
the probability of an item package getting caught
between the coil and its associated support tray. This
invention also provides for the interchange-
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ability be~ween coils of various sizes and incorporates means
. designea to assure a smoo~h discharge of the vended-item from
the tray.
The present invention comprises an improved ven ing
machine of the type utilizing helical vending coils and associa-
tea- sup~ort trays :Eor deliverying items to be vended from posi-
.tions upon the respective trays within the vending machines
to the leading or forward edges of the trays, ~rom edges the
items all into a discharge bin. The inventi~n includes an ..
improved ven~ing coil unit, a plurality of which Imits are
placed along side o~e anothex within the machinej with each
coil overlying an associated support tray or shelf. Each
vending coil unit csmprises a helical vending coil conn~cted
at one end thereof to a cross-braeket member. The cr~ss-~racke~ .
member is secured by a bracket holdin~ device near ~he back
-
portion of ~he ~ending machine. The bracket holding device is
connected to a rotatable shaft operatively connectea ~or.r~-
tation by an eiectric motor. The opposite end o~ the coil
is supported near the front of the machine by a coil support
. a~par~atus which is mounted at the forward edge of tha~ shelf:
surface de~ined by a tray longi~udinally disposed to underly
the coil. ~he coil suppor~ apparatus is inclined at an ~ngle
to the shel~ surface for enabling the smQoth dischar~e of the
item to be vended. The coil support apparatus is co~figured
to suppor~ the vending coil abo~e and out of contact with the
unaerlyinq shelf surface~ In one preferred embodiment~ each
~ending coil uni- comprisss means for positively ejecti~g
a ven~ed item from its respective. vending coil to assure~free
~all of the vended item from the edge of the shelf ~urface
and into a discharge bin.
.
BR:I:EF DESCRIPTION OF THE D~WING
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Referring to the Drawing, wherein like numerals
.. . . . . . . represent like parts throughout the several views: -
~ igure 1 is a view in front elevation of a vendin~
machine of the pxes~nt invention Showin~ a possible arra~gement
o~ a plurality o~ support trays within the vending machine and
a plurali~y of vending coil units overlying the respective
support trays; . . ;-
Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portio~ of.one of the support trays o~ the vending machine disclosed in
.. ... . . . . . . . . . . .
Fig. 1, as generally viewed along the plane of the I,ine 2-2
in Fig. l;
Figur~ 3.is a view in side elevation of a portion o~ - -
the interior of the vending machine disclosed in Fig. 1~ viewed
generally along the plane of the Line 3-3 in Fig.. 1,. illustrati~g
~'0 one of the vending coil units in extended position for loading
thereof or prepara~ory to removal thPreof from the machine;
Fi~ure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in ront :
eleva~ion of a vending ooil unit and its associated underlying
tray, as disclosed in ~ig. 1, and constructed accoraing ~o ^the
principles of this invention;
Figure S is a fr~mentary ~ectional view of a portion
`` . of the vending coil unit and underlyin~ support tray ai closed
in Fig. 4, generally taken along the ~ine 5-5 in Fig. 4;
~ igure 6 is a fragme~ary sectional view of the
:,0 ven~ing coil unit and underlying support tray disclosed in
in FiJ. 4, generally taken ~long the Line 6-6 of Fig. ~;
Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the
securing mechanism for ~he rear por~ion of the vending coil
disclosed in Fig. 4, generally as viewed along the Line 7-7
o~ Fig. 4;
. Figure 8 is a perspèctive-view of the cross-bracket .
holding device disclosea in Fig. 7;
- ~igure 9 is a view in rear elevation of cross-bracket
holding device disclosed in Fig. 8;
,' ~iguxe lQ is a fragmentary sectional view of the lower
O vending coil units and underlying support trays of the
; vending machi~e disclosed in Fig. 1, generally as viewed along
the Line 10-1~ o~ Fig. l;
Figure 11 is a fragmentary sectional view of a.vending
coil unit disclosed in Fig. 10, generally taken along the Line.
...... 11-11 o~ Fig.. 10; . ~ ~~~ ~~-~
:; .
Figure 12 is a fragmentary .sectional view of a por~ion
o~ the vending coil unit of Fig. 11, illustrating a product to
guid~arm, and generally taken along the ~ine 12-lZ of ~lgO 11;
Figure 13 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional ~l~w
iO of a bracket and pivot arm portion o~ the vending coil unit o~
Fig. 11, taken generally along the Line 13--13 of Fig, 11;
Figure 14 is a fragmentary view in front ele~:~.ion of
severa~ of the vending ~oil units and underlying trays ~isclosed
in Fig. 10;
Figure 15 is a fragmentary sectional view of ~ support
ramp member ~or the vending coil of the vending coil disclosed
; in Fig. 14, generally taken along the Line lS-15 of ~ig. 14; and
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4~1
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Figure 16 is a sec~ional view in rear elevation o~
~he suppor~ r~mp member disclosed in Fig. 15, generally taken
along ~he Line 16-16 of ~i~. 15.
DESC~I.PTION OF THE PREFER:E~EI) E~BODI~ENT
Re~exring to the Drawing, wherein like numerals re-
presen~ like elements throughout the several views, there is.
shown in Fig. 1 a dispensing machine 1 having an outer housing
2 with a pluralit~ o* dispensing txays 3 siidably mounted the~ein~
The vendin~ machine 1 also has a front door m_mber 2(a) (illus-
0 tr~ted in open positio~ in Fig. 1) pivo~ally mounted to.the
outer housing 2, which door member is normally positioned to
enclose the trays within the in~ernal cavi~ of the housing 2.
Si~ce the suppoxt apparatus for each o~ the trays 3 is of gen-
erally .identical construction, only one tra~ will be dèscribed,
~. it bèing understood tha~ the remaining trays 3 are o~ e- : -
cons~ruction and function~ Referring to Fig. 3, each dis~- .-
pensing ~ray 3 is mounted within the housing 2 by means o~
.
a plurali~y of rollers 5(a)-5~c~ respectively that tra~el . ~:.
within à pair o channels 4 at~ached to the interio:: o: the
outer housi~g ~, On each side of the trays 3 there is a *ront
roll~r 5~a~ loca~ed near ~he ~ront portion 6 of the tray 3~
a firs~ xearwardly disposed roller 5(b) and a second rear~ardly
disposed xoller 5(c) located near the back portion 7 of the
tray 3. The $irst rear.roller 5(b) is located fo~7ard of the
secon~ rear roller 5(c). Each guide channel 4 includes a top
support surface 8 and a bottom support s~rface 9~ The bottom
.
.. . .
.
support surface 9 o~ the channel 4 extends senerally horizon-
tall~ alon~ its entire length, while the to~ support sur~ace
8 incluaes an elongate hori~ontally disp~s~d portion lO.locatea
.tear~Yard o~ an inclined ramp portion 11, ~JniC'n i~ disposed
toward the forwaxd por-tion oE the channel 4. The in~linQd
ramp portion 11 enables the seoond rear roller 5(c) to ~erti-
cally li~t upward when the tray is pulled sufficiently forward,
esulting in a pivoting o~ the ~orward por~ion 6 o~ the tray
- /axis of t~e
3 in a downward direction about the *irst rear roller 5(b)~
Loaaing o~ articles to be dispensed is facilitated when the
tray is pulled in its outermost do~wardly tipped position~
as illustrated in Fig. 3. ~ pair o~ stop members 12 and 13,
mounted to the guide channel 4, engage the first and second
rear rollers S(b~ and 5(c) respectively when the tray 3 is
fu~ly extended in its tipped-down position, to prevent re-
moval of the tray from the guide channels 4 tsee Pig. 3?
S'op member ~3 also engages the fron~ roller 5~a) when the
tray 3 is positioned in ~ully inserted position withi~ the
housing 2 to retain the tray 3 in its normally operat~ve posi~
tion.
. The px~erred e~bodiment o the present invention
con~ains five trays 3 located within the outer housin~ 2.
I~ the pxeerred embodiment;it has been founa that the most
ad~anta~eous arxange~2nt vf the tra~s 3 --s to provide all .
e~cept the middle tray 3~a) with the above-aescribeA ~p-down
mechanism. The middle tray 3(a) (Figs. 1 and 3~ is supp~rted
in side channels 14 having both the top sup~or~ sur~ace 15 ana
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the bot~om support surface.16 thereof disposed generally hori ~
zo~ally along ~he entire length.of the channels 14~ Therefore,
the middle tray 3(a) will not tip down when pulled forwara in
its ully extended position.
:~ ~ach o~ the dispensing trays 3 contains a plurality .
oE dispensing coil units 20. Each dispensing coil unit 20
contains an ~l~ngate generally rigid helical dispensing coil
21 having a generally circular cross~section and a fron~ portion.
termina~ing in a first terminal 23 and a x~ar por~ion termina-
ting at a second terminal 25. A co~tinuous coil 21 contains
a pluralit~ o~ regularly spaced con~oluti-ns or winaings 26~
The inter-csnvolu~ion spacing between the windings 26 of the dis-
pensing coils 21 toward the rear portion thereof are rapidly
- ae~reased such that the-last winding 28 directly abuts ~h~
nex~-~o-the-las~ win~ing 29 (se~ Figs. 2, 10, ana 11).
. .
. A cross~bracke~ 30 is welded or other~ise fixedly -;
attacted to the rear portion of each ven~.ing.coi} 21.across
the inner diameter of the last winding 2S of ~he coil. ~see
Figs, 2, 4~ 7, 10 and 15). The cross-bracke~ 30 has a planar
central portion generally designated a~ 31 and ~wo end portions
.32, projecting generally perpendicularly to the central por-. -
tion 31. The leng$h oE the middle portion 31 o~ the cross-
~r~cket 30 equals the inner ~iameter of the las~ w~nding 28o the coil 21 and has a hole 3~ positioned a~ its longi~udi-
nal cen$er, The end poxtions 32 OL the cross-brac~et 30 are
of sufficient leng~h to permit attachment thereof ~o at least
the last winaing 28 of the ~ending coil 21, by ~7e~ding or o~her
--10--
-
": means ~ and pxeferably are of su~icien t leng~n to extend into
the inner diameter o~ the coil 21 so as ~o engage and be con-
nected to several windings thereof (see Fig. 10). ~en mounted
to a coil 21, the longi~udinal axis o the coil passes through
the center o the-hole 35 in the cross-~ra~ket 30.
~ ppropriate mo~or means, generally designa~ed a~ 40~
are provided ~or rotating the vending coil 21. In the pre~er--
xed embodiment9 the motor means 40 includ~s an electric-mo~or
41 w~ich rotates a sha~t 42 either direc~ly or through an.
appropriate gear xeaucing apparatus 43. The shaf~ 42 has a
. xounded protruding knurled end 44 (Fig. 7~ to pro~ide a
frictional compression engagement fit wi~h a cross-bracket. : -
holding device 50. Re~erring to Pigs. 7-9 the cross-bracket
holding de~ice 50 comprise5 a di5c-like outer portion 51
ha~ing a front lateral sux~ace 52 and a rear lateral surace
53. A hole 5~ passes t~ough the center ~f the cros5-bra~ke~
holding de~ice 50 so as to receive and to ~rictionally engage ..
the knurle~ ena 44 o~ the sha~t ~2. T~e front la~eral sur~c~ -
52 o:E the cro~s-bracket holding device is ~ecessed to :Eoxm a -:
charmel 55 having a width e~rual to that o:~ the cross-bracket . :.
30 suCh that when the cross-bracke~ hol~ing device 50 is mounted
to the s~aLt 42, the end 44 ~ the 5haf~ 42 will be aligne~
with and will matingly engage the hole 35 located in ~he mlddle - .
portion 31 o~ the cross-bracket 30, enabling th2 centr~l por
- tion 31 of the cross-bracket to cooperatively engage the
channel 55 of the cross~bracket holding device 50 and to be
.: , ' .
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:
seated therein.
The cross-bracket holding device 50 is provided with
two retaining clips 56 mounted adjacent to t~e channel 55 on
diametrically opposed sides thereof. Each of ~he re~aining
~lips 56 is operable between a. first and a second pos~tion,
and is no~Nally ~iased toward operation in i~s first position
~o retainably engage the cross-bracke~ member 30 wi~hin the
channel 55 and is movable to its second position for releasing ~ -
and/or or acceptins the cross-bracket membe~ 30 respectively : :
from and in~o reten~ion within the cha~nel 55. . . :
- . The motor means 40 for each tray 3 are mounted ~o.
a suppor~ wall 60 disposed across and foxming a rea~ portion
7 of each tra~ 3. The motor means 40 are mounted to the.sup- .
port walls 60 such that the shaft 42 proiects therethr~ush at:
a position.sufficient to su~port ~he rear portion of a vendin~
.. . .
coil 21 ~which is properel~ mounted to the cross~racke~ hol~ing
device 50 as above-described~, above and spaced apart ~rom ~h~
lower shelf surface 61 of the tray 3~ ~see Fi~s. 4~ . The
~orwaxdly dlspose~ por~ion of each coil ~1 is als~ suppoxte~: :
-- in a manner such tha~ the lower portion of the coil 21 overli~s
and is spaced apart fxom the tray shelf surface 61. Suppor~ o~.-
the o.~ardly di5posed portions of the di5pensing coils 21 is. .-
accomplishea by use of novel coil support apparatus o~ this . .
invention,two preferred embodiments of which are describ~d
bel~w~
Referring to ~igures 4-~, a first preferred em-
bodiment of a coil suppor-t apparatus for the for~7~rdly disposed
,
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portion o~ a coil 21 is disclosed at 70. ~ne coil suppo~t
appara~us ,O is con~i~ured fox mounting upon the shelf surface
61 an~ for engagement to and against the front edge 62 o~
the shel~ 61. The coil support apparatus 70 includes a ~irs~
elonga~e coil support member ~1 having a base portion deining-
a first plan~r upper surf~ce 72 disposed to.lie above ana
generall~ parallel to the shelf surface 61. The fixst coi~ -
support memhex 71 is mounted i~ fixed engage~en~ to the shel~ ~
surface 61 by means of a mou ffl ing stud 73 which projec~s ~hrough
~he sheif sur~ace and into cooperatively mating engagement
with ~he base p~rtion of the first coil support mem~er 71.
. The first coil support member 71 has a ramp sur~ace 74 rear- :
. wardl~ e~tending from ~he planar upper sUr~ace 72 o~ the SUp -
. .
pGrt member 71 to the shel~ surface.61, fon~ng a smoo~h con~
tinuous pa~h between the shelf surace 61 and the planar upper-
sur~ace 72 of the support member 71. The ~orwar~ end of the
support member ~1 is terminate~ at an ~nd portion 75 d~sposed
forwar~ of the ~ront ed~e 62 of. ~he shelf 61 at a ~istance . - -
approximately e~ual to ~e longitudinal dis~a~ce ~e~ween co~- `:
secutive convolu~ions o~ the helical coil 21 -~o be suppor~ed ~`
by the suppart apparatus 70.
The coil suppo.rt appara~us 70 ~urther has a
second coil support member ~1 collfigured ror ~ounting upon
the shelr sur~ace 61 and aligned parallel wi~h and spaced. - ,
apar~ from the first coil suppor~ me~ber 71~ The second coil
su~port m~mber 8!1hasabase portion de~inin~ a secon~ planar
upper surface 82 ~isposed to lie above ~nd generally parallel
. ,
~13-
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.. . ..
to the shel~ surface 61, and at a hei~ht such tha~ the planar
upper sur~aces 72 and 82 o~ the ~irst and second coil support
mem~er 71 and 81 respectively are generally co-pianar. The .
second coil s~pport member 81 is mounted in fixe~ engagement
.to the shel~ surface 61 b~ means of a mounting stud 73 which .
projects through the shelf surface 61 and into coopera~ive
mating engagement with the hase portion o the second coil
suppor~ membex 81. The second coil support member 81 has
a ramp sur~ace 84 rearwardly ex~ending from the pla~ar upper
surace 82 of the support member.81 and down to the shelf $ur- -
*ace 61, forming a smooth continuous path be~w~en the shel :. -
sur~ace 61 and thq plana~ upper sur~ace 82 o~ ~he support mem-
ber 81. The first and second support member 71 ana 81 0~ .the
coil suppor~ apparatus 70 are disposed such that ~eir ~esp~c-
tivç ra~p suraces 74 and 84 are generally co-plan2r. The
. .
~:forwara end of the support member 81 is terminated a-~ a leaaing
end portion 85 disposed to lie slightly foxwara o~ but adj~cent-
the front edge 62 o the shelf 61, and lon~itudinally spaced
back from the leading end portion 75 of the first support m~m--
ber 71 by approximately the.longitudinal spaclng b~ween suc . - .
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cessive convolutions o~ the coil 21~ . ;
The first and second coil support members 7i and: -~
81 respectivel~ are fixedly connectea in par211el spaced-apart
alignment with one another by means ~ a ~eam ~.embQr 87 lateral-
1~ disposed between the first and second support m~mb2rs 71
and ~1 respectively. The back surface of the beam membe~ 87
-is configured to matingl~ en~age the ront edge 62 of the
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shelf 61, and the ~op surface of ~he connecting beam member
~7 is alignea co-planar with tne shelf surface 61 to form a
con~inuous . sliding surface thexe~ith~ In the prererred embo-
diment, the fox~Jara edge of the connecting beam 87 is co-planar
wi~h the ~orwaxd end surface 85 of the second coil suppor~ mem-
ber 81. The back edge of the beam member 87 continuou~ly
laterally projects across and under ~he base portions of bo~h
the firs~ and second coil suppor~ member5 71 and 81 respec~ively~
to provide con~inuous alignment engagement of the su~port beam
87 wi~h ~he fxont edge 62 of the shelE 61 across the entire
la~er~l. dimension o~ ~he coil support appara,us 70. The . .
~irst and second support members 71 and 81 respectively are
.
laterally spaced apart from one another so as to cooperati~el~.
su~port b~ means vf the inwaraly disposed edges of their uppe~ ;
pla~ar surfaces 72 and 82 respec~ively one of ~he helical
: coils 21 such that the lower.:surface of the supported coil is
disposed to lie above and spaced apart from the shelr surfac~` -
61. In the preerred emboaimentO the ~oil support apparatus
7Q is constructed of durable plastic ~terial~- however, any
othex sui~able material could be equall~ well ernployed withi~
the spirit and intent o~ this invention.
; The forward end porti~n 75 of the first coil 5Up- ~
por~ member 70 includes a display panel 76. In ~he pre~erxed ::
~` emboaimen~, the di5play panel 76 includes a first yenerally
vertica~ly oriented slot 77 and a seco~d generally verticall~
orien~ed slo-t 78, suitable ~or accepting plas~ic or papex tab
inserts (not illustrated) on whicn visual informatlon such as
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produc~ iden~i~ication or price information can be visuall~
displayed.
~ he above-d~scribed coil support appalatus.70 is
particularly well suited for use in the dispensin~ o~ ite~s
having large, bulky packages such as potato chips ana pastxies.
It should be noted that the coil support app~ratus 70 need not
extend over the entire length of the coil 21 which i~ supports,~
bu~ is disposed to support the coil 21 only ~long a rela~ively
short length thereo~ near its ~oxwardly disposed end. Side
io p nels 89 are place~ ~e~ween eac~ of the dispensing coil u~ts
20 and are moun-~ed to the underlylny shelf 61, and exte~d fro~-
the *ront portions ~ to the xeax poxtio~s 7.of ~he respective
t~ays 3. The side panels 89 functio~ to provide laterial
guide support for item5 to be dispensed in a fon~ard ~irection
upon the rctation of the vending coil 21 ~bou~ its longitudi-.-
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':: nal axis, and.main~ain separa-tion o~ dispe~si~le itQms be~wëen
adjacent ones of the dispensing coil units. . ..
When the dispensing machine 1 i~ in operative us~
the it~ms to be dispensed, genera1ly designated a~ ~0 in Fig~
are loaded into the dis~ensing coil units for disposit1On:be~
tween consecutive convolutions of the dispensing coi~s~ as
i~lustrated in ~ig. l. A purchaser selects t~at ite~ he desir~s
dispensea, ~y electrical con~rol apparatus not~disolosed herein~ ~
but of any type well known in the art of vending and ~ispensing
machines, which control apparatus efects an ener~ization o
the motor means of the dispensin~ coil 21 wnich contains ~hak
se~ected dispensable item . The mo-~or means ~0 caus~ rotation
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of the select~d coil 21 a predetermîned number of ro~ational
degrees (generall~ ~ne full revolution) to e~fect a dispensing
aischarge or vend of ~he selected item to ~he purchaser. In
operation o~ the preferred embodiment o~ thQ disp~nsing coil
unit above described, as the dispensing coil 21 is rot~ed,.
the item ~o be dispensed travels in a forward direction along
the ~inding 26 of the dispensing coil 21. Until reaching the
coil support apparatus.70, the item to be disp~nse~ is
vertically suppor~ed by the underl~ing shelf surface 61.. ~pon
` reaching the coil support mel~er 70 the item ~o be aispensed
- engages and is guide~ upwardly by the first and seco;na ram~
. . suraces 74.and B4 respec~ively o the first and second coil
support members 71 and 81, and is thereafter longi~udinally
guided along the upper planar surfaces 72 and 82 respecti~ely
thereof. ~en the item to be dispensed reaches the ~ ard
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end portion 85 of ~he second coil support apparatus 81, the
item package is caused to be tipped in the direction o~ ~he . ..
second coil su~p~rt member 81, and ~alls b~ action o~ gravity
; . from the retainLng convolution of the support coil 21 and ~rom
the tra~ 3 into a discharge bln.91 of th~ machine l, where it
; îsretrieveaby the purchaser. ~ ~. . .-
R~erring to ~igures 14, 15 a~d 16, a second pre-
*erred èm~oaiment of ~ coil support appar~tus for suppoxtin~
thè orwardly disposed p~rtion of the dispensing coil 21, is
generally illustratea at 100- The coil support apparatus 100
includes a base memb~r 101 ha~in5 a top planar surface 702 and
-con.igured for mountin~ to the forward end o~ ~he tra~ 3 such
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- tha-t the base member 101 laterally extends acro~s the fron~
eage 62 of the tray shelf 61 with the top planax surface 102
o~ the base member 101 and ~he shelf suxface 61 of the tra~ 3
forming a continuous sliding surface. The base me~b~r 1~1
fur~her has a forwara, generally vertically disposed end 103.
The rearwardly disposed portion or the base ~emb~r 101 has ~ .
mountîng *lange 104 rearwardly projecting for engagem~n~ with
the lower side of the shelf 61, and is securely fastened to
the fon~ard end 6 of the ~ray 3 by means.of ~ounting s~uds
105. -- . . - . ~ ~-
Tile coil suppor~ apparatus 100 ~urther has an up- .
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xigh~ si~e panel 108 having a first generally planar side 109
and a second generally planar side 110~ The upri~ht-side panel .
108 is mountea ~o ~he shelf 61 and extends from. ~he front por- -
tion 6 of the tray 3 to the rear portion 7 thereof. T~e coil .
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suppoxt apparatus 100 further has a coil support me~ber 112.moun~ed to and proiecting genexally verticaily upward from the
upper sur~ace 102 of the base member 101 and extending fxom --
the forward end 103 of the base member 101 ;n a rearward airec-
tion generally parallel ~o the upright side panel 108. The ~ :coil support member 112;comprises a first generally-~erti-
cally extending side portion 113 and a second g2nerally ~ertl-
cally extending side poxtion 114, termina~ing at an elon~ate
ramp surfa~e 115 disposed above the shelf surface 61 and in-
clinded obliquely there~o. The rearwaral~ disposed ~railing
edge o~ the coil support member 112 is also incl.i~ed ~o form .
a ramp 116 extending at an angle from the first vert1cally dis-
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posed side 113 to the second vertically disposed side 11~ of
the coil support member 112 and forming a continuous sliding
surface with the elongate ramp sur~ace 115~ . -
The upright side panel 108 ana the elon~a~e xamp-
sur~ace 115 oE the coil support mem~er 112 are spaced apar~ a
distance relative to one another which is less ~han the.outer - .
diame~er o~ the helical coil 21 to be supported thereby, ~uch
that the venaing coil 21 is cooperatively supportea by the
elongate ramp surfa_e llS and the.first side - 109 of ~he . .
upright side panel 108 such that the lower surface of ~hecoil ~,
21 is ~isposed abo~e and spaced apar~ from ~he underlying shelf
sur~ace 61. In the preerxed em~odiment 9 ~he first verti~all~.
disposed sïde 11~ of the coil support member 112 of one dis- .
pensing coil unit 20 abuts in supportive manner the second
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planar sur~ace 110 o~ the upright side pa~el 108 o~ the ~mmedi-
ately adjacent dispensing coil unit 20.
The forward ena 103 of the secon~ coil suppor.
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appara~us 100 includes a display panel 117. In the.preæexred .
embod~ent, the display panel 117 includes a pluralit~ of ~en- .
~0 erally ~ertically orîented slots 118 suitable ~or ac.~epting
plastic or paper tab inserts (not illustrated~ on which visual
information such as prGduct iaen~i~ication or price i.nformation
can b~ visuall~ displayed.
. The coil support appara~us lOO above-described
is particularly suitable for accommod~tin~ a helical coil ~1
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having diameter less than that of the coils supported hy the
coil support apparatus 70, and is pa~ticularly well adap~ed
for use in dlsp~nsing sm211er items such as candy bars and
the like whic~ have packages less bulky than potato- chips and
pasteries. In operation~ ~he items to be dispensed 120 by -
means o~ coils supported by the coil suppor~ appara~us 100
would generally be loaded in~o ~he dispensing coil 21, b~
placin~ ~he items between the convolutions thereo. in an up-
right posi~ion. To maintain the dispensable items 120-i~ ~heix
upright positions, a pan~l-like product guide member 130 is
used to laterally support the dispen~able items be~ween -~he
Firs~ siae 109 o~ the upright side panel and the ~xoduct guide
. . .
member 130. .. . ..
. The pxoduct guide 130 is adjus~ably mounted to .
acco~moaa~e various wid~.hs of items to be carried b~ ~he coil
21. The prodùct guide 130 comprises a cha~nel shaped member ~ ..
having a side ~ortion 13i, a top portion 132 and a bottom
portion 133, and extends in overlyin~ ~lanner along ~h~ en~ire
length of the aispen~ing coil 210 The product guide member 130
2~ is pivotally supported ~ ~ pi~ot points 134 and 135 at longi-
tudinally spaced po~i~ions along the guide 130. Plastic . -~~
sleave member~ 136 an~ 137 are Dosi~ioned bet~een ~he~
top and bottom portions 132 and 133 respecti~ely o~ tke gu~de
a~ ~he pivot points 134 and 135 respect~vely~ and have vertical
; ly extending apertures 138 and 139 respectivel~ extending
therethrough (see Figs. 11-13).
Each of the product ~uide members 130 is supportea
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by means o~ a plurality of pivot ~rms 140, haviny an upp_r
vertical portion 141, a horizontally disposed middle portion 142
and a lower vertical~y disposed portion la3. The lower verti-
cal portion 143 o~ the pivot arms 1~0 are mounted to pivotally
ride in bracket members 145 ~ a t~eXhtend lrom
llQ o~nat upright side panel 108 of the immediateiy adjacent
coil suppor~ apparatus. The upper vertical portions 141 of
the pivo~ arms 140 are inserted through the vertic311y alig~ed .
aper~tures 138 and 139 of the plastic sleeve support memb rs
1.0 136 and 137 respecti~ely in the produc~ guide 130.ana fric~ion-
all~ enga~e the inner aper*ure sur~aces o~ the plastic sleeve
members 136 and 137J such that the product guide member 13~
can be pivotally xota~ed to the,desired lateral spacing ~rom
the first side 109 o~ the upright side panel 108 ~y rotating
the ~roduct guide 130 about its pivot points 134 and 135 to
see Fiqs. 10-13~ -
the desired location~- Once the desired location has been
a~tained, the rictional fit between the..pivot arm~ 1~0 and
the sleeve members 136 and 137 will maint~in the lateral posi- -
tioning o:~ ~he pr~duc~ ~uide p~el ï30 until xe-a~jus~ed by
an operatox o the machine~ . .. . -
~ach upright side panel 108 has mounted at its
~orward edge a tab memb0r 150 pXojecting outwardly ~herefrom
at an angle toward the coil support me~ber 112- In -the prefexred
embodiment, this angle is approxlmately 30~ ~ut ma~ be any o~her
suitable angle. The tab member 150 is preferably vertically
positioned at tha~ ~ertical height w~ere the dispensing coii
21 contacts th3 side panel 108. The ~ab member 150
-projects outwardly rQm the side panel 108 a dis-
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tance su~icien~ to engage the Lorward ea~e o~ the ~ror~ windingol ~he dispens.ng coil 21, at a position therealo~g spaced back
from the ~irst terminal 23 thereo~. As the dispensing coil 21
i5 rotated during a dispensing opera~ion, the tzb m~mber 150
will come into sliding en~agement ~ith the first ~inding D~
the vending coil 21. In normal operation, ~he dispensing coil
is rotatea abou~ its longitudinal axis in a direction opposite
to the direction of th~ coil windings. There~ore~. onc~ the
coil has come into sliding engagement with ~he tab member 150 f
lC t~e tab member 150 will impart compressive forces to the dis-
pensing coil 21 in the longitudinal direction o~ the coil such
tha~ further rotation o~ ~he coil causes a sli~h~ compression
o~ the generally rigid coil 21. ~hen the p~int of con~act
. .
.between the tab member i50 and the first winding of the coil 21
reaches a~d passes the ~irst terminal 23 o~ the ven~ing co~l
, s - 2I, the CQil 21 disengages ~ro~ the tab member 150, relievi~g
the co~pression and the vending coil 21 rapidly expan~s to
its noxmal leng~h. The rapid expansion o~ the dispensing coil
to i~s normal length provides a posi~ive dispensing."push"
~o that article to be dispensed which is positioned within the
~irst co~olu~ion o the dispensing coil~ at the foxwar~ edg~ . .
o ~he tray 3~ Upo~ rapidly ex~anding, therefore, the di~pen- -
. ..
: sing coil 21 e~fects a vend o~ the item wlthin its ~irst con-
~olution by positi~ely ejecting that item o~er the edge af.
.the top planar sur~ace 102 o the base member 101, fxom ~J~ence
it falls into the ~ischarge bin 91 o~ the machine l by fQrce
o gxavity.
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~ hile preferred configurations and embod7men~sof the invention have been disclosed herei~, o~ler modifications
of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the ar~
in light of the foregoing description. This descrip-tion is
intended to provide concrete examples of specific em~oaime~t~-
which clearly disclose the present invehtion~ Accordin~ly~ -
- the invention is not limited to any particular embodLment.
All alternatives, modifications an~ varia-~ions of the pxesent
invention which fall within the spirit and brcad scope o~ -~he
~ppen~ed claims are cGvered~ -.
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