Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
58622
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; The invention relates to vending machines for
vending articles of a thin rectangular shape, such as
booklets of postage stamps and the like.
Vending machines for thin sheet articles are
disclosed in U. S. Patents 2,937,785 and 3,158,288. In such
prior art vending machines, the articles are of rectangular
shape and are thus stacked alternately across one another.
The cross stacked articles are supported in vertical columns,
by means of vertical magazines or storage walls. At the
bottom of such magazines, two opposite pairs of trap doors
are provided, interlocked by an operating mechanism. One
pair of trap doors is held in a horizontalt article supporting
position while the other pair of doors is operated to flap
downwardly thereby permitting an article supported thereon to
drop down.
This principle of operation has been found to be
highly reliable and satisfactory and has given many years of
trouble free service in the past.
In order to function satisfactorily however it was
necessary that a good deal of care was exercised in the assembly
and final adjustment of the apparatus. In particular, it was
necessary that the vertical magazines or storage walls be very
carefully aligned with the trap doors, and trap door supporting
frames and the like. It will of course be appreciated that the
articles being dispensed by such a mechanism are very light,
consisting only of two or three sheets of paper, and the least
obstruction will cause a misfeed and jam the mechanism. Presen~
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day manufacturing conditions make it difficult to obtain skilled
labour, which can be trained for these relatively exacting and
time cons~ming tasks. It is thereEore desirable to provide a
modified form of construction in which the various components
are self aligning so as to reduce or practically speaking
eliminate the requirement for the adjustment of the mechanism
during manufacture.
In addition to these manufacturing problems, the servicing
of such vending machines in the field also present certain problems.
Such vending machines especially in the case of postage stamps
are frequently located out of doors. Repairing or adjusting the
mechanism in such locations is often inconvenient. In addition,
it may be difficult to train suffi~ient personnel for the pur-
poses of staffing service trucks and the like with trained
mechanics capable of repairing defective machines.
Accordingly, it is desir~ble to provide in such machines
for the entire storage magazine and dispensing mechanism to be
readily removable from the machine, and replaceable by a service
unit which can simply be reinstalled in its place more or less
instantaneously~ and the defective unit returned to a central
workshop.
In addition, the refilling of the maga~ine with thin
flat articles such as postage stamps has in the past required
a certain amount of manual dexterity. In the event that the
articles are not installed in the magazine in the correct flat
cross stacked manner then they will not feed-smoothly from the
magazine. It is again desirable as far as possible that the
recharging of such magazine be simplified so as again to both
reduce the amount of skill and training required, and also to
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- reduce servicing time.
In particular it is desirable that the vending machine
and the article dispensing unit or units shall be completely
independent and separable, except for the connection of an
electrical cord. In this way the housing can carry the push
button controls, and control circuits, and coin rejection
mechanism, and the dispensing units can comprise a complete unit
having a base, a hopper, a dispensing mechanism and a motor for
operating the mechanism. The cord may of course be either on the
dispensing unit, or the housing, or both.
With a view to overcoming these various disadvantages,
the invention seeks to provide a vending machine for thin flat
sheet articles wherein the article release mechanism comprises two
pairs of diametrically opposed swingable trap doors, the trap doors`
being mounted on respective door mounting blocks and wherein the
door mounting blocks incorporate recesses for registering with
the article magazine, and article guides automatically aligning
with the lower end of the magazine and extending below the level
of the doors, whereby to guide individual articles from the
magazines through the trap doors to ensure a precisely regulated
feeding of articles.
The invention further provides a vending machine for
thin flat sheet articles, such vending machine having a housing, an
article dispensing unit having a hopper, a base plate, dispensing
machanism, power operated means, and the housing having support
means and slide means for receiving the dispensing unit and
remotely operable control means on the housing for controlling the
power operated means.
The invention further seeks to provide a vending
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machine having the foregoing advantages and further having
article support rails within the vending machine housing, for
slidably supporting said base plate thereon, and releasable
locking means interengagable between said base plate and at
least one of said rails, whereby a said dispensing unit may
be locked in position thereon, and may be readily released
therefrom for replacement.
The invention further seeks to provide a vending
machine for thin flat sheet articles, wherein the articles are
stored in a vertical stac~, in a magazine, and wherein the
maga~ine incorporates one or more releasable wall members, whereby
the magazine may be opened up along its vertical lerigth, thereby
giving access to the interior to facilitate stacking of articles
therein, the wall being replaceable to complete the magazine
around the articles after the same has been recharged.
The various features of novelty which characterize
the invention are pointed out with particularity in the clai.ms
~llnexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better
understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and
specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to
the accompanying drawings and ~escriptive matter in which there
are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the
invention.
Il~ T~E D~AWI~GS:~
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Figure 1 is a perspecti~e frontal illustration showing
the vending machine according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a similar view showing it opened up;
Figure 3 is a perspective of a stack of articles;
Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly in section along
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the line ~-4 of Figure 2;
Figure 5 is a greatly enlarged perspective showing
the hinge mechanism;
Figure 6 is a perspective illustration showing the
article dispensing unit and magazine;
Figure 7 is a lower plan view looking upwardly
beneath Figure 6, showing the details of the article release
mechanism;
Figure 8 is a perspective illustration of a portion
of the trap doors and guide means, and,
Figure 9 is an enlarged perspective of one of the
guide means. ,
Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen
that the vending machine according to the invention
comprises a generally rectangular box-like housing 10
having side walls 12, top walls 14, bottom wall 16 and
rear wall 18.
The front door panel 20 is hinged to one o~ the
side walls 12, and may be locked shut by means of a loclc
and key 22.
On the front face on the door panel 20 there is
provided a coin slot 24, and article dispensing openings
25 and door 26, and a coin return door and opening 28. ;~
On the inner face of the door panel 20, there is
provided a coin rejector mechanism shown generally as 30,
and two article delivery chute means 32. ~;~
The coin rejector mechanism 30 is not described in
detail, and is of a type well known in the vending art. It is
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electrically opexated and is connected by means of a cable
34 to a control box 36 mounted on rear wall 18 of housing 10.
Control DOX 36 is of course provided with any
suita~le cable (not shown) wh~reby it may be plugged into a
source of electrical power.
Witilin tne housing 10 tllere are located, in this
embodiment of the invention two article dispensing units,
one of which is indicated generally as 40, the other article
dispensing mechanism being omitted for the sake of clarity.
It will ~owever be appreciated that such a further unit 40 would
norrnally be incorporated.
'l'he invention is not however restricted to a vending
machine having two such article dispensing units 40. There could
be a single such unit or ~lere could be rnultiples of such units
d~pending on the particular application.
The article dispensing unit 40 is shown in more detail
in Figures 4 to 9. The dispensing unit 40 performs two
functions namely that of storin~ a sufficient quantity of
articles, and also of dispensing or releasing the articles one
by one as they are purchased.
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In order to store the articles, generally channel
s~a~d verticaL wall members 42 are arranged to form an
upstanding hopper or magazi~e-like structure. The four chan~el
walls are referenced 4~ a, b, c and d respectively. Each of
tlle channel walls 42 a, b & c are of similar construction and
are securely fastened together for example by welding or the
like (not shown) so that they form a rigid vertical structure.
The upper ends may be flaired outwardly to facilitate insertion
of articles thereinO
At their lower ends they ar0 provided with generally
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L shaped mountiny brackets 44. The fourth channel wall 42d
may be similar to walls 42a, b and 6, or may be hingedly
mounted to wall 42a so that it may be swung to and fro, to
give access to the interior of the hopper or magazine thereby
facilitating insertion 0f articles therein.
The hinge means which i9 shown in more detail in figure
5 comprises left and right hand hinge flanges 46 and 48,
having respective tu~ular sleeve portions 50 and 52 for
reception of a hinge pin 54 therethrough. Tne sleeve portion 50
and 52 are spaced apart a greater distance than in conventional
hinges, so that the flange portion 48 may be moved vertically
upwardly and downwardly with reference to the hinge flange 46,
along the hinge pin 54.
Coil springs 56 are located on hinge pins 54 between
sleeves 50 and 52.
- It will be noted in Figure 6, that the wall 42d is
not provided with a bracket at 44 its lower end, so that it
is in fact free to be slid upwardly and downwardly on the two
hinge pins 54 against springs 56 and to be swung away from
wall 42a giving access to the interior of the magazine.
At the lower ends of the channel walls 42a, b, c and d,
there are provided four mounting block members 58a, b, c and d.
The mounting blocks 58 are all fastened to a base pla~2 60 by
means such as bolts 62.
A central opening indicated as 64 (see figure 8) is
provided through base plate 60, registering with the four walls 42.
As best shown in Figure ~ and geach of the mounting
blocks 58 comprises a generally planar centre portion 66, and two
side rib portions 68, each of which extend forwardly of the centre
portion 66, and are provided with downwardly dependent guide
11~862~
plates 70 and forwardly extending fingers 72.
Further downwardly dependent guide p}ates 74 are
provided on the leading edge of the centre portion 66.
Each of the mounting blocks 5~ is mounted on a
respective side of openiny 64 in base plate 60, and guide
plates 70 and 74 extend through such opening, so as to guide
the passage o~ an article therethrough.
In each of fingers 72 there is formed a locating
recess 73. Each recess 73 receives one corner of a ~han~el wall
42 and precisely locates it to ensure clean feeding.
Beneath each of the mounting blocks there i5
provided a trap door flap 76, hingedly mounted in hinge pin
77 secured below block 58 on an axis located rearwardly o
the front face of guide plates 74 so as to swing between a
vertieally- downwardly dependent position and a horizontal
position as shown in Figure 8.
Trap door flaps 76 are generally rectangular having
two larger sides and two shorter sides.
Each of the trap doors have rectangular recesses 76a
registering with guides 74. Recesses 76a are both located
along the same longer side, and on the same side as the hinge
pin 77. In this way the trap doors can swing downwardly
around guides 74 and clear of them, and will hang in a plane
offset outwardly from guides 74 so as to avoid interfering
with the article dropping therethrough.
The trap door flaps 76 are operated in opposite
pairs, so that when one opposite pair is swung u~wardly, the
other opposite pair is swung downwardly.
The mechanism by which this is achieved is shown in
Figure 7. Such operating mechanism is essentially similar in
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concept to that already disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent
2,937,785 and 3,158,288, with certain differences. It will be
seen to comprise three bell cranks 78, 80 and 82, each of
which is pivotally mounted on a bolt 84, on the underside of
the base plate 60.
Bell crank 78 is provided with a boss 86 at one end,
and boss 87 and a crank pin 88 at the other end. Bell crank
80 is provided with a slotted opening 90 receiving crank pin
88 at one end and a slo~ted opening at 92 at the other end.
Bell crank 82 is provided with a crank pin 94 at
one end running in slotted o~ening 92 and is further provided
with a boss 96 at the same end as crank pin 94 and a further
boss 98 at the other end.
It will thus be seen that all o~ bell cranks 78,
80 and 82 are linked together by crank pins 88 and 94 for
swinging movement in unison.
Swinging movement is procured through, for example,
bar 100, driven from hub 102, which is in turn driven by
any suitable electrical motor and drive train shown generally
as 104. ~`
Motor 104 is connected by any sultable means such
as cable 106 to control box 36.
Bosses 86, 87, 96 and 98 engage the undersurfaces
of respective door flaps 76, and procure swinging movement
thereof upon operation of motor 104.
In order -to support each of the article dispensing
units 40 inside housing 10, there are provided generally
right angular frame members 108, three being shown in this
embodiment of the invention for supporting the two article
dispensing units 40. It will be appreciated that if more
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. article dispensing units were employed there would be additional
such frame members employed. The frame members 108 are provided
on their horizontal portions with retaining pins 110 having
heads 112, located at spaced intervals therealong. The heads
112 are such that they fit snugly over the` edges of the base
plate 60. In this way the base plate 60 may be slid relative
to the frames 108, and is retained in position against tipping
over by the heads 112.
In order to ensure that the article dispensing units 40
are located accurately with regard to the dispensing chutes 32,
locating pins 11~ are provided being operated by springs 116,
and seating in suitable openings 118 in base plate~s 60 (Figure 4).
Depression of pin 114 will of course permit base plate
60 and the entire unit 40 to be slid out or servicing. It will
be noted that the arrangement of the retaining pins 110 is such
that even when the unit 40 is slid half way out, it will still
be effectively supported in a cantilever manner so that, for
example, the filling of the magazine with articles is made much
simpler since the articles may be dropped into the top of the
magazine without interference from the top of the housing 10.
Removal of a unit 40 simply involves pulling the
base plate 60 all the way out from the retaining pins 110,
and unplugging the cable 106 from the control box 36.
The sliding support of the dispensing unit could be
achieved in other ways. Thus, the brackets could be modified,
and the pins 110 could be placed on the base plate. The pins
110 could clearly be replaced by other forms of slidable support,
and other forms of locating means could replace the pins 11~.
In operation, the magazine contains articles,
typically thin, flat, rectangular booklets of postage stamps,
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cross-stacked as shown in ~igure 3, with the lowermost article
resting on one pair of opposed trap door flaps 76 in their
upper position with the other pair of opposed trap door flaps
76 heing swung in their downwardly dependent position.
A purchaser then inserts a suitable quantity of
!' coins in the slot 24. The passàge of the coins through the
coin rejector 30 will then produce an electrical impulse
which passes along cable 34 to control box 36. By suitable
relays (not shown) such as are well known in the art, electrical
power is passed from control box 36 along cable 106 to operate
motor 104 through a predetermined operating cycle. Such movement
will drive hub 102 and link 100 causing bell cranks 78, 80 and
82 to swing from one position to the other.
Such swinging movement will cause one pair of opposite
trap door flaps 76 to swing upwardly and the other pair to swing
downwardly. The pair that swings downwardly will release the
article resting thereon.
The next article up in the stack being arranged
transversely will then be caught by the other two trap door
flaps which are swinging upwardly so that one article only
will be dispensed downwardly through the opening 64. ~s it
passes through the opening it will be precisely guided by
contact with the guides 70 and 74 so that it falls cleanly
into one of dispensing chutes 32. The purchaser can then
remove the article from one o~ openings 26 on the front of
housing 10.
When it is necessary to refill the magazine, all
that is required is for the operator to open the door 20 of
the housing 10, and partially withdraw the unit 40, by
depressing pin 114 and sliding base plate 50 halfway out.
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He then simply raises channel wall 42d against
springs 56, so -that channel wall 42d is no longer trapped
between the ribs 68 of the mounting block 58, and channel
wall 42d is then free to be swung to one side.
He can then readily refill the remaining channel
walls 42a, b and c with cross-stacked articles, and then
simply swing the channel wall 42d back into position again.
SUPPLEMENTARY DISCLOSURE
Figure 10 is a partially exploded lower perspective
view of the operating linkage and trap door flaps, and,
Figure 11 is a perspective of the mounting brackets
of Figure 10.
Certain modifications can usefully be made to the
hinging of the trap door flaps.
As best shown in Figures 10 and 11, the hinge pins
77 extend through suitable openings in the longer sides of
trap door flaps 76, and are received in slots 200 formed in
hase plate 202 on either side of modified mounting blocks 204.
Pins 77 are held in such slots by being sandwiched between the
undersurfaces of blocks 204, and co~ner plates 206, on the
underside of base plate 202.
Spacer discs 207 of different thickness separate
bell cranks 78, 80 and 82 by different distances from corner
plates 206 and are all held in position by bolts 84.
Mounting blocks 204 in Figures 10 and 11 have guide
members 208 generally similar to guides 74, but guides 210
are somewhat larger and extended as compared with guides 70,
and are cut away to permit entry of hinge pins`77 into slots
200 in base plate 202.
Bell cranks 78, 80 and 82 are unchanged, as is the
bar 100, and crank 102 and motor 104,
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The foregoing is a description of a preferred
embodiment of the invention which is given here by way
of example only. The invention is not to be taken as
limited to any of the specific features as described,
1. but comprehends all such variations thereof as come
; within the scope of the appended claims.
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