Abstract:
A system and method for providing an improved product delivery bin for a vending machine is disclosed. A vending machine cabinet is provided with a door assembly that is capable of being placed in a closed position with respect to the vending machine cabinet. The product delivery bin of the vending machine comprises a door panel of the door assembly and a cabinet bin panel of the vending machine cabinet. The product delivery bin is formed when the door assembly is in a closed position with respect to the vending machine cabinet. The product delivery bin is accessible through a bin access door in the door assembly.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention is directed, in general, to vending machines and, more particularly, to an improved product delivery bin for a vending machine. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Vending machines for dispensing canned and/or bottled beverages have long been known. Early model vending machines release similarly sized bottles, one at a time, following deposit of a required purchase amount. In order to withdraw the selected bottle from the vending machine, a purchaser was required to, for example, slide the bottle along a track until reaching a release point at which time the bottle could be removed from the machine. While effective, differences in bottle design, size and shape made it necessary to develop specific product vending machines. However, over time, packaging beverages in cans gained in popularity. The standardization of product containers brought on through the use of beverage cans made vending simpler. Many vending machine designs employed serpentine tracks that not only increases storage capacity but improves the overall efficiency of the vending operation. 
         [0003]    Presently, product containers are once again available in various different sizes and shapes. Specialty beverages, such as sports and energy drinks, flavored teas, fruit juices, milk and the like, are growing in popularity. Typically, these beverages are packaged in glass or plastic bottles that have unique shapes which are associated with the particular product. Given the wide variety of container sizes, mechanisms for delivering the selected product to a consumer must be readily adaptable or capable of accommodating a large number of different products. At present, transport mechanisms that transition in multiple planes to deliver a selected product to a consumer are growing in popularity. Typically, the selected product is either retrieved from a shelf or allowed to pass into a carrier portion of the transport mechanism whereupon the transport carrier is shifted toward a dispensing area. 
         [0004]    Once at the dispensing area, the product must be discharged from the transport carrier. Various mechanisms have been employed to discharge a selected product from a transport carrier into a dispensing area. In one example, the product is simply run along a conveyor belt into the dispensing area. In other examples, the selected product is gently placed in the dispensing area. In still other arrangements, the product is simply ejected from the transport carrier and allowed to fall within the vending machine cabinet into the dispensing area. 
         [0005]    In many vending machines, the dispensing area is located laterally offset from the product storage area. That is, the product storage area is defined between left and right upstanding inner walls, with products being discharged through one of the walls into a laterally spaced compartment located below a validator unit. With this arrangement, the product storage area is necessarily reduced in it lateral dimension. Other vending machines simply drop products to a lower retrieval chamber which is accessible through a frontal zone of the vending machine. Although these known arrangements enable the full width of the vending machine to be used for product storage, considerable measures must be taken to assure adequate protection from product theft through the frontal zone. 
         [0006]    After a consumer has selected a product and paid the purchase price, the vending machine discharges the product into a product delivery bin. The consumer retrieves the product from the product delivery bin through a bin access door through the door assembly of the vending machine. The manufacture of a prior art product delivery bin generally requires numerous manufacturing steps, numerous constituent parts, and significant assembly costs. 
         [0007]    Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved product delivery bin for a vending machine that can be manufactured (1) with significantly fewer steps than a prior art product delivery bin, and (2) with significantly fewer parts than a prior art product delivery bin, and (3) with significantly less cost than a prior art product delivery bin. There exists a need for an improved product delivery bin for vending machines. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The product delivery bin of the present invention is intended for use in a vending machine that comprises a vending machine cabinet that has a top, bottom, rear and opposing side portions. The vending machine cabinet defines a product storage zone. The vending machine cabinet is provided with a door assembly that is capable of being placed in a closed position with respect to the vending machine cabinet. 
         [0009]    The product delivery bin of the invention comprises a door panel of the door assembly and a cabinet bin panel of the vending machine cabinet. The product delivery bin is formed when the door assembly is in a closed position with respect to the vending machine cabinet. The product delivery bin is accessible through a bin access door in the door assembly. 
         [0010]    Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an upper right, exploded view of a prior art vending machine incorporating a prior art product delivery bin in the product dispensing area of the vending machine; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an upper right, exploded view of a vending machine incorporating a product delivery bin of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a vending machine incorporating a product delivery bin of the present invention; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a detailed cross sectional view of a product delivery bin of the present invention taken along the line A-A of the vending machine shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]      FIGS. 1 through 4  and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the invention may be implemented in any type of suitably arranged vending machine. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is an upper right, exploded view of a prior art vending machine  100 . The vending machine  100  comprises a vending machine cabinet  105  having a top portion  110 , a bottom portion  115 , a rear portion (not shown in  FIG. 1 ), and opposing side portions  125  and  130  that collectively define an internal product storage zone  135 . Vending machine  100  also includes a plurality of leg members  140  for supporting vending machine cabinet  105  on a floor surface. Vending machine  100  further includes a plurality of shelves  145  that support various product containers. Each product shelf  145  includes a plurality of laterally spaced product queues, each having a respective release mechanism (not shown) for releasing a selected product to a consumer. 
         [0017]    A door assembly  150  is pivotally mounted to vending machine cabinet  105 . A portion of door assembly  150  is connected to vending machine cabinet  105  through a hinge mechanism (not shown) to selectively provide access to product storage zone  135 . Door assembly  150  is also provided with a lock mechanism  155  that prevents unauthorized access to product storage zone  135 . 
         [0018]    Door assembly  150  is provided with a transparent window  160  that allows consumers to see and choose between the various products that are offered by vending machine  100 . In connection with making a selection, a consumer deposits a purchase price into a currency receiving zone  165 . Currency receiving zone  165  generally comprises a bill acceptor/validator unit, a coin slot, and a coin return area. Following the deposit of the purchase price and the selection of a desired product, vending machine  100  initiates a vending operation that results in the delivery of the selected product to a product dispensing area. In order to retrieve the selected product from the product dispensing area, the consumer simply accesses the product dispensing area through an opening  175  provided on the door assembly  150 . 
         [0019]    The product dispensing area is enclosed by a product delivery bin  180 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the product delivery bin  180  is a separate unit that is located under the product storage zone  135  of vending machine cabinet  105 . A typical prior art product delivery bin  180  is manufactured as a complete subassembly unit. The product delivery bin  180  subassembly is manufactured from sheet metal material, plastic material, and/or other appropriate manufacturing materials. The product delivery bin  180  comprises a bin access door  185  that is pivotally mounted on the product delivery bin  180 . The bin access door  185  is aligned with the opening  175  on the door assembly  150 . When a consumer desires to retrieve a selected product from the product delivery bin  180 , the consumer manually pushes inwardly on the bin access door  185 . The consumer then retrieves the selected product from the bottom of the product delivery bin  180 . 
         [0020]    The assembly of the prior art product delivery bin  180  requires a number of manufacturing steps. The present invention provides a product delivery bin for a vending machine that can be manufactured with significantly fewer steps than a prior art product delivery bin  180 . The present invention also provides a product delivery bin for a vending machine that can be manufactured with significantly fewer parts than a prior art product delivery bin  180 . The present invention also provides a product delivery bin for a vending machine that can be manufactured with less cost than a prior art product delivery bin  180 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is an upper right, exploded view of a vending machine  200  incorporating a product delivery bin  280  of the present invention. The vending machine  200  comprises a vending machine cabinet  205  having a top portion  210 , a bottom portion  215 , a rear portion (not shown in  FIG. 2 ), and opposing side portions  225  and  230  that collectively define an internal product storage zone  235 . Vending machine  200  also includes a plurality of leg members  240  for supporting vending machine cabinet  205  on a floor surface. Vending machine  200  further includes a plurality of shelves  245  that support various product containers. Each product shelf  245  includes a plurality of laterally spaced product queues, each having a respective release mechanism (not shown) for releasing a selected product to a consumer. 
         [0022]    A door assembly  250  is pivotally mounted to vending machine cabinet  205 . A portion of door assembly  250  is connected to vending machine cabinet  205  through a hinge mechanism (not shown) to selectively provide access to product storage zone  235 . Door assembly  250  is also provided with a lock mechanism  255  that prevents unauthorized access to product storage zone  235 . 
         [0023]    Door assembly  250  is provided with a transparent window  260  that allows consumers to see and choose between the various products that are offered by vending machine  200 . In connection with making a selection, a consumer deposits a purchase price into a currency receiving zone  265 . Currency receiving zone  265  generally comprises a bill acceptor/validator unit, a coin slot, and a coin return area. Following the deposit of the purchase price and the selection of a desired product, vending machine  200  initiates a vending operation that results in the delivery of the selected product to a product dispensing area. In order to retrieve the selected product from the product dispensing area, the consumer simply accesses the product dispensing area through an opening  275  provided on the door assembly  250 . 
         [0024]    The product dispensing area comprises a product delivery bin  280 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the product delivery bin  280  is located under the product storage zone  235  of vending machine cabinet  205 . The product delivery bin  280  of the present invention is formed from a door panel  285  of the door assembly  250  and from a cabinet bin panel  290  of the vending machine cabinet  205 . As will be more fully described, the door panel  285  and the cabinet bin panel  290  cooperate to form the product delivery bin  280  when the door assembly  250  is in its closed position with respect to the vending machine cabinet  205 . 
         [0025]    The product delivery bin  280  also comprises a bin access door  295  that is pivotally mounted on the door assembly  250  in alignment with the opening  275  of the door assembly  250 . When a consumer desires to retrieve a selected product from the product delivery bin  280 , the consumer manually pushes inwardly on the bin access door  295 . The consumer then retrieves the selected product from the bottom of the product delivery bin  280 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the vending machine  200  of the present invention that incorporates a product delivery bin  280  of the present invention.  FIG. 3  illustrates a view that shows the door assembly  250  in a closed position with respect to the vending machine cabinet  205 . The bin access door  295  is shown in a closed position. The letters PUSH are placed on the bin access door  295  to show the consumer where to push on the bin access door  295 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a detailed cross sectional view of the product delivery bin  280  of the present invention taken along the line A-A of the vending machine  200  shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the bin access door  295  and the door panel  285  comprise the front of the product delivery bin  280 . The door panel  285  also comprises a portion of the bottom of the product delivery bin  280 . The door panel  285  also comprises the sides (not shown in  FIG. 4 ) of the product delivery bin  280 . The front portion of the door panel  285  is designated with reference numeral  410  and the bottom portion of the door panel  285  is designated with reference numeral  420 . 
         [0028]    The cabinet bin panel  290  comprises the back of the product delivery bin  280 . The cabinet bin panel  290  also comprises a portion of the bottom of the product delivery bin  280 . The cabinet bin panel  290  also comprises the sides (not shown in  FIG. 4 ) of the product delivery bin  280 . The bottom portion of the cabinet bin panel  290  is designated with reference numeral  430 . 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , when the door assembly  250  is in a closed position with respect to vending machine cabinet  205 , an edge  440  of the bottom portion  420  of the door panel  285  is adjacent to an edge  450  of the bottom portion  430  of the cabinet bin panel  290 . An appropriate sealing mechanism  460  (such as an O-ring) may be affixed either to the edge  440  or to the edge  450  to provide a sealed closure between the door panel  285  and the cabinet bin panel  290  when the door assembly  250  is in a closed position with respect to vending machine cabinet  205 . 
         [0030]    The elements of the door panel  285  that have been described and the elements of the cabinet bin panel  290  that have been described operate together to form the product delivery bin  280  of the present invention. The present invention provides a product delivery bin  280  for a vending machine  200  that can be manufactured with significantly fewer steps than a prior art product delivery bin  180 . This is because the product delivery bin  280  of the invention comprises fewer parts than the prior art product delivery bin  180 . Because the product delivery bin  280  of the invention comprises fewer parts than a prior art delivery bin  180 , the product delivery bin  280  of the invention can be manufactured with less cost than the prior art product delivery bin  180 . For the reasons set forth above, the product delivery bin  280  of the invention provides significant benefits for the vending machine manufacturing industry. 
         [0031]    It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like. 
         [0032]    While this disclosure has described certain embodiments and generally associated methods, alterations and permutations of these embodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of example embodiments does not define or constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.