Patent ID: 6234345
Filing Date: 2001-05-22
Classification: G07F

Abstract:
A vending machine for vending items, said vending machine comprising:a dispenser to store and dispense said vended items, said dispenser including a plurality of motion-controllable cradles, each of said cradles being operable to convey one of said items to a customer;a plurality of sensors to sense open or closed states of said cradles, respectively;a controller to permit, upon the payment of a fee, any one said plurality of cradles to be opened, said controller being responsive to said sensors to determine when a first one of said cradles is partially opened, and said controller being operable to permit said first cradle to be fully opened while preventing the other ones of said plurality of cradles from being opened enough to withdraw an item so as to restrict items dispensed to one item per fee; anda payment device to receive payment of a fee from a customer and a plurality of selectively extendable pins that selectively engage with said cradles to prevent said cradles from being rotated, respectively, enough to permit withdrawal of an item,wherein said sensors are switches that have a first state when said cradle is in a closed position and a second state when said cradle is in a partially opened state; andwherein, upon said payment of said fee, said controller is operable todetermine if one of said sensors has changed from said first state to said second state,permit a cradle corresponding to said changed sensor to be opened for a predetermined duration, andcause all of said cradles to lock after expiration of said predetermined duration.