Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
wo 95/06301 PCrluss3/08l04
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Desc. ,I.lic..
parka~e Vendin~ Machine
Technical Field
S The present invention relates to an a~s for selectively
dispensing a selectecl one of a plurality of packages. More particularly, the
a~ L~ls of the present invention utilizes a con~ negative air pres~u~c
picker for picking up packages of frozen food having heterogeneous shapes
and sizes from a th~rm~lly isolated storage co.~ llent.
10 ~^fLh~rv~nd Art
Until recent years, most of the mçrh~ni~m~ used in various package
and product dispensing m~rhines relied on a mllltihl~le of motors, switches
and solenoids for moving various m~rhinP parts and otherwise h~nrlling the
package to be tli~pen~e~l Most such ,.,~rhil-~s required one motor, switch
15 and/or solenoid for each row, column or type of product or package
.. dedicated to kicking out or otherwise ejecting the desired package or
product the~rlolll. Thclc~ole, a m~rhine having an arrangement of nine
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racks of product would typically require nine motors, switches and/or
solenoids for ejecting one product from each rack.
Such m~rhines generally suffer from numerous disadvantages. One
disadvantage lies in the fact that any m~rhine having such an arrangement
will commonly experience ~ le~ou~ merh~nical failures due to such factors
as age, exposure, poor m~ re, poor assembly, mi~lignm~nt, etc.
Furthermore, the tendency to malfunction can be greatly incll ased when the
mrrh~nical parts must operate in a froæn enviro~ c.ll such as that created
in a frozen food or ice cream vending m~rhinr
Additionally, each motor, switch and/or solenoid can be expensive
and therefore can contribute to increasing the overall cost of a m~rhine, i.e.,
either in capital or assembly costs. F.limin~tion of any such merh~nic~l
parts will usually result in a lowered cost of production and future
m~ ce and repair.
Moreover, extraneous m~rh;ll~ . .y uses up valuable space which could
be occupied by product. The loss of product storage space means that the
m~rhinP location must be visited by the opcldLor more frequently for
restor~ing, thereby i~cl~;asillg op~.atillg costs and redllcing profitability.
For the above reasons and others not expressly ~ cll~sed herein,
20 numerous ~U~ have been made to develop package and product
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dispensing m~rhin~s which have as few motors, switches, solenoids and
;- other me~h~nical devices as possible.
As one e~mple of such a package and product rlicpçncing m~l~hin~,
consider the ap~dlus disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,787,533 to Haroutel
S et al. The ~licpenC~r disclosed by Haroutel et al. fiicpences postal packets
of differing sizes and types. The device utilizes individually controlled and
motorized ho.i olll~l and vertical carriages for positioning a product holding
device in front of the desired article. However, this device still has a
relatively large number of electro-m~ h~niç~l parts which are relatively
10 intricate to assemble and e~l.e.~i~e to operate and ...~ st;n Furthermore,
the disclosed ",~c~ icm is not designed for cold ~ e~dlul~ operation and
therefore is not suitable for cold food ~licpencing
U.S. Patent No. 5,025,950 to Trouteaud et al. discloses an a~lJdldlus
for storing and dispencing ice cream packaged in u~fifollll containers which
15 are stored in rotatable transporters or revolving racks. However, this
appdldlus does not solve the above-mentioned problems. Firstly, each
rotatable l~dl~uull. ~ re.luiles its own motor drive. Secondly, this
arr~n~m~nt has a very limited capacity. Thirdly, and perhaps most
.o.L~llly, all of the m~rh~nics of the disclosed allpdldlus are exposed to
20 the cold envi~onlllell~.
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As was mentioned briefly above, mp~h~nical failures are common
with vending m~hintos that refrigerate their products, especially with
vending m~rhin~s that employ motors or solenoids to dispense their
products from the refrigerator. Because the motors and solenoids are
5 located within the refrigerator, they are subjected to cold telnpc.dlules and
con~en~t~s Such harsh Op~.dlillg conditions increase the likelihood that
the motors and solenoids will malfunction. The a~alalus of Trouteaud et
al. is as susceptible as the other prior art m~rhinPs and furthermore suffers
from the other disadvantages ~ c~ e~ hereinabove.
German Application No. 2,455,673 discloses a m~l~.hin~o for vending
froæn food packages which utilizes a motoriæd sliding carriage to position
a suction device over the package to be dispensed. The entire suction
device is then lowered by a motorized drum and cable system until contact
is made between the suction device and the package. The suction device
15 is then activated and withdrawn to a dispensing position along with the
package. However, this device still suffers from the disadvantage that the
entire mt-f~.h~ni.~m is still subject to the cold envilolllllc,l~ of the freezer,
thereby inviting inc~eased m~o~h~nic~l failures as well as having the
inefficiency of expending a good deal of energy cooling large volumes of
20 non-storage space.
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Disclosure of the Iovention
Thelefole, it is one object of the present invention to provide an
a~p~alus for dispensing products which are stored in a refrigerated or
frozen condition having fewer moving parts than known app~dLus.
SIt is another object of the present invention to provide an a~alus
for dispensing frozen products in which cold-susceptible moving parts are
exposed to the cold ellvilolllllent only during the ~ p~n~ing process.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an
a~palal IS for tli~p~n~ing frozen products wherein the storage capacily of the
10refrigerated area is much greater than that of known frozen food dis~ense.~.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an
ap~al~s for dispensing frozen products having heterogeneous shapes,
weights and sizes.
The foregoing objectives and others not specifically enumerated
15herein are accomplished by the present invention which relates generally to
a vending appalaLus for selectively dispensing one of a plurality of
p~ ges More particularly, the vending app~alus of the present invention
.is especi~lly well-suited for dispensing frozen and refrigerated foods such
as ice cream, for example. The vending al"~alalus comprises an outer
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cabinet having storing means for storing the plurality of packages disposed
therein. The storing means is provided with a displaceable themmal barrier
and refrigeration means for refrigerating the interior of the storing means
to a selected te~ lwe. The themlal barrier is displaceable by opening
S means provided for opening the themmal barrier.
The appalalus is provided with package removing means for
selectively removing the selected package from the storing means. The
removing means are located outside the storing means between op~ g
cycles and enter the storing me~nc only for the purpose of removing one of
10 the packages during the rlicpencing operation. The tlicp~ncing operation is
govemed by controlling means for autom~tic~lly controlling the package
removing me~nc and opening means in response to a customer's selection,
as well as m~ g an inventory map and sensing opclalhlg conditions.
The removing means includes a picker for cont~r,ting the package to
15 be removed, x-y positioning means for positioning said picker over the
package, and z positioning means for selectively raising and lowering the
picker above the package. The lifting is accomplished by constant air
blower means for creating a constant negative air ples~ule which is
conn~ctrrl to the picker by an air hose. The air blower means and z
20 positioning means are controlled by the controlling means which
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sequentially actuates them in l~syonse to signals sent by sensing means on
.- the picker for sensing contact b.,L~ the picker and the package. The
package is then lifted up and deposited into a dispensing area, by which
time the thermal barrier has been replaced, thereby conserving the cold
S environment of the storage area and protecting the app~a~ ls' cold-
suscc~,Lible moving and electromechanical parts.
BriefD~s: ;I,lionOfTheD.~
For a more complete underst~n-ling of the present invention,
ref~lellce may be had to the following detailed description of an exemplary
embodiment taken in conjunction with the accol.,y~liing figures of the
drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a vending
aypalalus for selectively dispensing one of a plurality of packages in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of one embodiment of a vending
ayyaldLus for selectively dispensing one of a plurality of packages in
accordance with FIG. 1, having the front door removed;
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FIG. 3 is a left-side elevational view of one embodiment of a
vending app~dLus for selectively dispensing one of a plurality of packages
in accordance with FIG. 1, having the left wall of the outer cabinet removed
and shown in partial cross-section for purposes of clarity and discussion;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cartridge to be utilized with one
embodiment of a vending ap~&dLus constructed in accord~lce with the
present invention;
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a cartridge to be utilized with one
embodiment of a vending a~)~dldLus constructed in accordance with the
present invention according to FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of another cartridge to be utilized with one
embodiment of a vending appa.dLus coll~LIu~;Led in accordance with the
present invention according to FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a top plan view of another cartridge to be utilized with one
embodiment of a vending a~p~dLLls constructed in accordance with the
present invention according to FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a pel~ecLi~e view in detail of a portion of a vending
apl)dldL~ls for selectively dispensing one of a plurality of packages in
accordance with FIG. 1, a portion thereof being shown in partial cross-
section,
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~fi90~
FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view in detail of a portion of a vending
- a~a.dl~ls for selectively tlicp~n.cing one of a plurality of packages in
accol~ce with FIG. 8,
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view in detail of a portion of a vending
5app~a~us for selectively tlicpencing one of a plurality of packages in
accordance with FIG. 1;
FIG. 11 is a side elevational view in detail of a portion of a vending
app~d~ls for selectively flicpencing one of a plurality of packages in
accordance ~,vith FIG. 1;
lOFIG. 12 is a side elevational view in detail of another embodiment
of a portion of a vending ~ald~us for selectively dispensing one of a
plurality of packages in accordance with FIG. 1;
FIG. 13 is a side elevational view in detail of another embodiment
of a portion of a vending appdldLuc for selectively dispensing one of a
15plurality of packages in accorda~lce with FIG. l;
FIG. 14 is a side elevational view in detail of another embodiment
of a portion of a vending al)p~dLus for selectively dispensing one of a
plurality of packages in accordance with FIG. 1; and
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FIG. 15 is a front elevational view in detail of another embodiment
of a vending app~dLus for selectively dispensing one of a plurality of
packages constructed in accordance with the present invention.
Best Mode for Carryin~ Out the Invention
With lefele~lce to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown a vending m~rhine 2
having an outer housing 3 with a main door 4. A cllctom~. retrieval door
S is disposed in a lower part of door 4 while the upper part is domin~tecl by
a viewing glass 6. Inset near viewing glass 6 there is a currency receiver
7 and l~belled selection ~wilches 8.
Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3 m~r~inP cabinet
10 is shown having a freezer colllpalllllent 12 disposed in a bottom portion
thereof. Freezer colllp~l~llent 12 has an open top which is covered by
sliding panels 14, posihoned in sliding door tracks 1~, which provides a
thermal barrier for mA;~ ;ng a cooled environment b~Lweell 0 and -20F
in freezer colllp~L,llent 12. The cooled envho~lle.ll is provided by
refrigeration system 16 located in a bottom portion of m~r~in~ cabinet 10.
An x-y beam 18 is sncpçn~e(l above sliding panels 14 and outside
freezer colllpd,L~llent 12 betweeny rails 20 which are ~tt~rh~d opposite one
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2~ ~90~i
another near the top of cabinet sides 22. Beam 18 has ball-bearing rollers
22 which rest on y rails 20 at either end thereof. There are x-guide rails 24
provided on~either long edge of x-y beam 18 on which ride additional ball-
bearing rollers 26 which are ~tt~rh~d to x-y carriage 28. The side to side
S mov~,l,t,ll of x-y carriage 28 is accomplished by X motor 30 which is
suspended in a stationary position on the underside of x-y beam 18. X-y
carriage 28 and X motor 30 may be conn~cted in a variety of ways such as
by an endless chain which engages toothed sprockets (not shown) provided
on both x-y carriage 28 and X motor 30. Movement of x-y beam 18 is
similarly accoll,~lished by providing Y motor 32 for driving Y axle 34. Y
axle 34 has one gear 3~ at each end thereof, tonm~shçd with toothed rack
37. The positions of x-y carriage 28 and x-y beam 18 are determinçcl by X
position sensor 36 and Y position sensor 38, lespe~lively, which feed
t~nre mea~ ;",e"l~ to an ~uto-m~tic control system 40 located adjacent
to freezer co",p~ll"ent 12 which governs and coor.lil,a~es all the operations
ofthe present invention. The ~lece~l;ne arrangement for positioning the x-y
carriage 28 over the correct dispensable product may be refe.l~d to
collectively as the x-y positioning means.
A blower motor 42 is housed bclw~en l"~rhinf cabinet 10 and
- 20 freezer colllpd,llllent 12. Blower motor 42 has conn~cted thereto a flexible
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air hose 44, which air hose 44 is connrcted at its other end to x-y carriage
28 which comprises an air conduit 46. X-y carriage 28 has a picker guide
tube 48 e~trn~ling down th~ ulll which houses a longitudinally-
colllpressible hose 50, which preferably self-retracts to a normally
5 colll~ ed position. Picker guide tube 48 has mounted on an outer surface
thereof a z-origin sensor 51 for a purpose which will be more fully
~i~c~ ed hereinbelow.
Hose S0 connects at its upper end with air conduit 46 and has a
picker head 52 at its lower tc...;...~ Picker head 52 comprises a
10 coulltc,~ight against sudden closed-end vacuum 1)1e~ and has a
generally cylindrical upper portion 53 with a frustum-shaped lower end 55
for a reason which will be disclosed hereinbelow. A Z motor 54 mounted
to x-y carriage 28 is att~rhed to a Z reel 56 which has wldl,~ed thereon two
Z cables 58. Cables 58 are wound around Z reel 56 which is rotated by Z
motor 54, and then pass over cellhlhlg Z pulleys 60 which align cables 58
so they are eq~ t~nt from one another and parallel with the longit~l-lin~l
axis of guide tube 48. Cables 58 are ~tt~ch~d to the top of picker head 52
and may be provided with a cable slack removal system ~ltili7ing a
counterweight or a spring ~tt~c~ed to a slidable pulley. Rather than
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employing two cables external to the air hose 50, a single cable could be
. employed, running co~xi~lly within the air hose 50.
Referring now to FIGS. 8-10, picker head 52 has a central
bore 62 thelethlough. Bore 62 tapers from a wide ~ meter interior conical
S guide 63 near the top of picker head 52 to a ~ m~ter slightly greater than
that of hose 50. Hose 50 is secured to the inside of bore 62 by any of a
number of suitable means including cl~mring, friction, screw threads or
glue. In the te n~;nAl end of picker head 52 and circumscribing the mouth
of bore 62, there is installed a package sensor ring 64. ~ rh~tl to the
10 outer portion of sensor ring 64 there is a flexible circular rubber gasket 66
which provides for greater collro~ ce to package contours during the
operation of the present invention. The sensor ring 64 can be s~lbst~nti~lly
rigid. ~1ternAtively, the sensor ring 64 could be made from a flexible air
hose in order to p~lrullll a shock-absolbillg function during a product
1~ removal operation, thereby promoting the integrity of an air seal formed
b~lw~;n a product and the rubber gasket 66 even when the product is
jostled or jolted by, for ;..~ n~e~ sudden motion or inadvertent contact with
~ rent objects. In this alternate embo-lim~ont the sensing function
nnrrnAlly ~,c.rollllcd by the sensor ring 64 could be peirolllled by a movable
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~690~b
plunger switch located coaxially within the bore 62 of the picker head 52
and toxtentling below the rubber gasket 66.
Referring now back to FIGS. 2 and 3, x-y carriage 28 is securely
fixed to sliding panel cables 68 which are closed-loop cables. Cables 68
5 pass around a series of sliding door pulleys 70 and are securely fixed to
sliding panels 14. Cables 68 are arranged together with pulleys 70 so that
sliding panels 14 sllde from a closed position back and up tracks 15 when
x-y carriage 28 is moved towards the rear of cabinet 10. When x-y carriage
28 is moved back towards a starting position near the front of cabinet 10,
10 sliding panels 14 is similarly moved back into a closed position.
Referring now to FIGS. 4-7, there is shown one embodiment of a
cartridge 72 which may be used in conj~ c~ion with the present invention.
Cartridge 72 has generally rectangular walls 73 and a floor 75 with one
open end into which frozen food packages 74 are placed. With particular
15 reference to FIGS. 5 and 7, pac~ges 74 of different sizes can be held
cellh"ed in a standard size cartridge 72 by using package positioners 76,
which may be locked into place or removably inserted into receiving means
(not shown) in car~idge 72. The use of cartridges 72 for holding packages
74 provides numerous advantages such as enabling easy preloading at a
20 central location in an assembly line fashion, quicker restocking, and proper
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positio~ing of packages 74 having many shapes and sizes in the same basic
- outer unit.
Referring to FIGS. 11-14, there are shown ~lt~rn~te embo-lim~nt~ for
covering the open top of freezer colllpa L.llcllt 12. One embodiment seen
5 in FIG. 11 has a multi-part cover 78 constructed with nulllcl~us panel
members 80 which slide over or under ~ c~r,t m~rnhers 80. The cover 82
of FIG. 12 is constructed of a plurality of hinged members 84 so that the
members 84 fold up against one another. The cover 86 of FIG. 13 is a
single unit which is co.~ ctecl by at least one hinge 88 to freezer
10 colll~ ,lll 12. In this embo~im~nt the cover 86 opens in a vertically
arcing motion, which can be initiated by a se~a,al~ motor only or by a
sepal~le motor acting to partially open the cover 86 and then by a
mechanical linkage (not shown) depending from the x-y beam 18 and
movable conjointly th~ vilh. The cover 90 of FIG. 14 is a single flexible
15 member which slides in track 1~.
In use, a customer inserts money into ~;Ull~ n~;y receiver 7 and makes
a selection from selection ~wil~l~s 8. Automatic control system 40 locates
the correct stack of packages and a.;liv~les X motor 30 to move x-y carriage
28 left or right to a position in line with the stack. When x-y carriage 28
20 reaches the correct position, X motor 30 is turned off and Y motor 32 which
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~ 6~086
moves the entirè x-y beam 18 carrying the x-y carriage 28 LonLw~d or
rearward is activated. Sliding panels 14, which is ~tt~checl by cables 68 to
x-y carriage 28, opens up in proportion to the rearward travel of x-y beam
18. At the end of the completed ope.dLillg cycle sliding panels 14 will close
5 in tandem with the Lolllw~ud motion of x-y beam 18. When x-y beam 18
reaches the x,y coordill~les of the selected package Y motor 32 is turned off
and Z motor 54 is activated. This turns Z reel 56, thereby unwinding Z
cables 58, lowering picker head 52 down into freezer co"l~dlLlllent 12. As
picker head 52 enters into the predet~min~od cartridge 72 it is guided by the
10 Lu~Lul~-shaped lower end 55 coming in contact with cartridge walls 73.
Therefore, while X motor 30 and Y motor 32 act to position picker head 52
over the cartridge 72, the L ~Lulll-shaped lower end 55 accurately positions
picker head 52, colllpe~ ting for mi~lignmPnt~ in cartridge position.
Similarly, the upper end 53 of picker head 52 has a ullir(Jllll cross-section
15 for a dete~min~d length sufficient to prevent tipping of picker head 52 to
one side because of contact with cartridge walls 73 as it is lowered down.
When any part of rubber gasket 66 contacts the package, package sensor
ring 64 is activated and Z motor 54 is turned off. Blower motor 42 is
turned on, sucking the package up against rubber gasket 66. Z motor 54 is
20 then reversed, thereby winding up Z cables 58 on Z reel 56 and raising
16
WO 9S/06301 PCT/US93/08104
21 6908B
picker head 52 along with the package out of freezer colllpd.~llent 12.
Picker head 52 is pulled up around guide tube 48 aided by the tapered
interior conical guide 63 until Z origin sensor 51 is activated and Z motor
54 is turned off.
Ymotor 32 is then activated in reverse until x-y beam 18 is returned
to its origin position and sliding panels 14 are simultaneously closed. Y
motor 32 and blower motor 42 are deactivated thereby releasing the
package, which drops down behind c~-~tomer retrieval door 5. X motor 30
is reversed until x-y carriage 28 is returned to its origin position, thereby
completing a full op.ld~ing cycle.
Should a cartridge 72 be empty, then automatic control system 40,
which monitors the descent of picker head 52 from signals received from
descent measuring mean~ (not shown), excludes the empty cartridge from
the inventory, recalls picker head 52 by reversing Z motor 54, relocating
picker head 52 above another cartridge 72, and co.~ g the procedure as
detailed above. The contents of the inventory, from which a package
location is ~let~ninP~ is stored in automatic control system 40. The data
conce. ..;..g which cartridges 72 correlate with which selection switches 8 is
pro~loulllllcd by an opc.~lor during a weekly load up, for example. After
20 the load up is completed, or after any m~rhinr shut down, the automatic
17
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2~ 69086
control system 40 sends picker head 52 down into each and every cartridge
72 to determine, by signals sent or not sent by sensor ring 64, if it has any
contents.
It will be understood that the embo-liment.c described herein are
5 merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many
variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention. For example, blower motor 42 could be mounted on X-Y
carriage 28, as shown in FIG. 15. All such modifications and variations are
intton-l~d to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the
10 appended claims.
