Patent ID: 6409045
Filing Date: 2002-06-25
Classification: G07F

Abstract:
A vending machine for vending a plurality of bottles each of which are supported in an upright position only at a top portion of each of the bottles comprising a storage cabinet, a dispensing rack located in said storage cabinet having at least a single elongated slot located therein for storing and dispensing bottles from said dispensing rack which bottles each include a top portion which is engaged by and supported by said slot in said dispensing rack, said slot including a pair of substantially parallel spaced apart side walls which terminate at one end thereof in an opening in said dispensing rack, said pair of substantially parallel spaced apart side walls being spaced apart a distance which is less than the diameter of the top portion of the bottles which are supported in said elongated slot to prevent bottles from falling from said elongated slot when the bottles are supported by said side walls of said slot, means for adjusting the distance between said parallel spaced apart side walls of said slot to enable said slot to support bottles having various diameters at the top portion of the bottles, said opening in said dispensing rack being larger than the diameter of the top portion of the bottles which are supported in said elongated slot to enable bottles which are supported in said elongated slot to move from said slot into said opening to be dispensed from said dispensing rack, said dispensing rack being inclined from a horizontal position in a downwardly direction toward said opening in said dispensing rack to enable bottles supported in said slot in said rack to move under the influence of gravity toward said one end of said slot at which said opening is located, a gate member for controlling movement of the bottles through said slot to said opening, said gate member being pivotable between a blocking position in which said gate member blocks movement of bottles from said slot to said opening and a dispensing position in which said gate member enables the next bottle to be vended to move from said slot to said opening to be dispensed from said dispensing rack, a locking mechanism for locking said gate member to prevent said gate member from pivoting from said blocking position, and a crediting mechanism connected to said locking mechanism to unlock said locking mechanism when coins or a credit of a predetermined value are received in said crediting mechanism and said crediting mechanism is actuated to unlock said locking mechanism to allow said gate member to pivot from said blocking position to said dispensing position to enable the next bottle to be vended to move from said slot to said opening to be dispensed from said dispensing rack.