Vending machine for flat articles

Vending machine for flat articles having a housing at a portion of which there is an article delivery slot. Within the housing there is an ejection plate which can be moved by an actuating handle and by which one article at a time can be carried through the delivery slot from the stack of articles which is standing on an inclined supporting plate within the housing.

The present invention relates to a vending machine for flat articles such 
as newspapers or the like, which has a housing which has a delivery slot 
for the articles and a delivery device which can be actuated by a handle 
located outside the housing, the device having pointed projections 
extending in the delivery direction and facing the article to be 
delivered, the articles being arranged on a support plate which inclines 
downward to the delivery device and has an upwardly extending bend at its 
lower edge. 
Vending machines with delivery means which can be actuated by the insertion 
of coins or tokens have also been frequently proposed. In the vending 
machines known from Austrain Pat. No. 349 250 and the one known from 
Austrian Pat. No. 331542, the newspaper to be delivered must first of all 
be raised above a barrier, i.e. pushed upwardly, before it can leave the 
vending machine at its bottom. The moving of the newspaper backward and 
forward is therefore necessary. 
In Austrian Pat. No. 349250, the newspapers lie on a transport carriage 
with the lower end of which a small feeler plate is associated. The 
carriage, and necessarily also the feeler plate, must be gradually raised 
upon the removal of each newspaper by an amount equal to the thickness 
thereof, for which an extremely expensive mechanism is provided. 
In Austrian Pat. No. 331 542, the newspapers which are arranged on an 
oblique slide path having an angular bend rest against the rigid front 
wall of the housing. The pressure with which they rest against this wall 
is increased by a spring-loaded pressing device. Therefore when a 
newspaper is removed it is necessary to overcome not only the friction 
between the newspapers but furthermore also the friction between the first 
newspaper and the wall of the housing, which in addition to this has 
friction-increasing openings for the action of driver pins. 
One disadvantage in the known apparatus which results from the backward and 
forward movement of the paper to be removed is the necessity of bringing 
the driver points or some of them out of engagement with the newspaper at 
the correct time. 
Vending machines are also known (Austrian Pat. No. 271 062, French Pat. No. 
374 961 and West German OS No. 1 952 444) which deliver the newspapers at 
the top. In these vending machines, friction wheels, gearwheels or needle 
strips are provided as removal devices. 
The vending machines known up to the present time are disadvantageous 
insofar as they are of relatively expensive construction and therefore 
costly as well as susceptible to breakdown. For this reason, many 
newspaper publishers have gone over to using so-called "dumb vendors" 
which leave it to the purchaser as to how many newspapers he removes and 
how much he pays for them. 
Vending machines (West German OS No. 1 952 444) are also known, which while 
they can be opened only after the insertion of a coin or token, then, 
however, free their entire contents so that once again the number of 
newspapers which the buyer actually removes is left up to him. 
The object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine of very 
simple and therefore economical construction which provides assurance that 
in each case only one flat article, such as for instance a newspaper, can 
be removed. 
This object is achieved with a vending machine in which the delivery device 
is an ejection plate which bears the pointed projections approximately at 
its center and which can be displaced upward into its delivery position by 
actuation of the handle, in which position the plate extends partially out 
of the delivery slot provided in the top of the housing; that the ejection 
plate bears at its lower edge opposite the delivery slot at least one 
supporting projection which points towards the support plate; that the 
ejection plate and preferably, however, the entire housing of the vending 
machine, is arranged inclined rearwards by about 10.degree., the 
supporting plate forming an acute angle with the ejection plate. 
With the vending machine of this invention assurance is had that in each 
case, due to the sharp projections on the ejection plate, one article is 
removed from the pile of articles resting on the support plate and pushed 
upwards through the slot out of the housing. Due to the fact that the bend 
of the support plate is arranged at a distance from the ejection plate 
assurance is also had that the pile of articles no longer rests with its 
full surface against the article acted on by the ejection plate so that 
there is no danger that other articles can be carried along upwards as a 
result of a large amount of friction. Furthermore, by the invention the 
article (newspaper) to be removed is supported over its full surface so 
that a kinking thereof is prevented. The movements for supporting articles 
which are necessary in the known apparatus (Austrian Pat. No. 293 074, 
West German OS No. 1 599 027 and Austrian Pat. No. 349 250) can be 
dispensed with. As compared with Austrian Pat. No. 331 542 there is 
furthermore the advantage that the newspaper is delivered at the top so 
that there is no danger that, upon the removal of one newspaper, the first 
page of the next newspaper will be simultaneously pulled down and damaged. 
In order to prevent rain from penetrating into the vending machine through 
the delivery slot and in order to assure protection against unauthorized 
removal, a cap which covers the delivery slot from the outside, when the 
ejection plate has been pushed into the housing, may, within the scope of 
the invention, be fastened to the upper edge of the ejection plate. 
The delivery device can be actuated with particular ease if the handle for 
the actuation of the ejection plate is a yoke which is mounted swingably 
around a horizontal axis on the housing. 
In accordance with the invention, a spring-loaded pawl may be swingably 
mounted on the ejection plate, the pawl engaging behind a stop affixed to 
the housing when the ejection plate is pushed into the housing and being 
liftable out of this position by the insertion of coins and/or tokens. 
This embodiment provides assurance in a simple manner that the vending 
machine can be actuated only upon payment of the price for the article. 
This embodiment can furthermore be provided with a coin chute which 
adjoins a coin tester and extends approximately parallel to the ejection 
plate, the lower open end of the chute being arranged directly above a 
projection provided on the pawl, and that upon lifting of the ejection 
plate the pawl can be lifted from its locking position by the projection 
which slides along the coin. 
In order that the articles (newspapers) cannot bend away from the ejection 
plate even when the machine is substantially empty, a weight developed, 
for instance, in U shape can be provided which sits in sliding manner on 
the support plate and urges the pile of articles against the ejection 
plate.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vending machine has a housing 15 which can 
be made of sheet metal or plastic and is provided on its front with a 
viewing window 9 through which it can be noted whether there are any 
articles in the vending machine and what they are. An insertion slot 8 for 
coins and/or tokens is also provided. A U-shaped operating handle 1 is 
also pivotally connected to the housing, upon each swing of which handle 
one article is pushed out of the vending machine. 
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, an ejection plate 2 is mounted in the region of 
the rear wall of the housing 15, the upper end of which plate passes 
through a slot 16 in the housing 15. The slot 16 in the housing 15 is 
covered by a cap 17 fastened to the ejection plate 2 so that the articles 
contained in the vending machine, such as newspapers for instance, are 
protected from inclement weather. 
Approximately in the center of the ejection plate 2 there are two oblique 
upwardly directed sharp projections 3 while at its lower end there is a 
ledge or at least a support projection 5. The stack of articles 18 is 
seated in the vending machine on a support plate 4 which forms an acute 
angle with the ejection plate 2, and that end of the support plate which 
is adjacent the ejection plate 2 has an upwardextending bend 4'. Finally a 
weight 30, can be provided for instance bent in U-shape, a crosspiece 31 
(partially sectioned) of which reset on the support plate 4 and arms of 
which rest on the stack of articles 18, so that the stack of articles 18 
can be dependably pressed against the bend 4' and the articles cannot 
curve away from the ejection plate 2. 
If the operating handle 1 is now pushed downward, the ejection plate 2, 
which is pivotally connected to a rear end of the operating handle, moves 
upwardly and its sharp projections 3 grasp that article in the stack of 
articles 18 which is immediately adjacent said projections. The article is 
drawn upward by the projections 3 and places itself then against the 
ejection plate 2, resting on the ledge or the support projections 5. It 
can be noted in particular from FIG. 4 that due to the bend 4' the rest of 
the stack of articles 18 rests only with a small area against the article 
present on the ejection plate 2 so that no large amount of friction can 
occur. In this way one prevents lifting two or more articles upon a single 
actuation of the handle 1. If the operating handle 1 has now been swung 
into the position shown in FIG. 5 the article can be grasped in the region 
6 and removed from the ejection plate. Thereupon the operating handle 1 is 
moved back into the starting position (FIG. 6) and the ejection plate 2 is 
pushed down into the housing 15. The return movement of the plate 2 can 
also be effected or assisted by a spring and/or gravity. 
Since, as a rule it is desirable for an article to be removable only after 
insertion of the proper coin or token, a locking device which can be 
disengaged by the insertion of one or more coins or tokens is associated 
with the operating handle 1 or the ejection plate 2, the locking device 
permitting only a single actuation of the operating handle after the 
insertion of the coin or token. 
A locking device of preferred use for the invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 
8. 
This locking device has a coin or token (both herein referred to 
generically as coins) tester 10 adjoining the coin insertion slot 8 and a 
downwardly extending coin chute 19 approximately parallel to the ejection 
plate 2. A pawl 12 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 20 provided on the 
ejection plate 2. The pawl 12 is so acted on by a spring 21 connected to 
the bracket 20 and the pawl 12 and biasing the lower end of the pawl 
counterclockwise that when the ejection plate 2 has been pushed into the 
housing the pawl lockably engages behind a stop 13 which is fastened to 
the housing. The pawl 12 furthermore has a projection 11 which, in the 
locked position of the pawl 12 shown in FIG. 7, is located below the coin 
chute 19. If now--as shown in FIG. 7--a coin 14 is at the lower end of the 
coin chute 19 then the projection 11, upon the lifting of the ejection 
plate 2, will slide along the curved edge of the coin 14 so that the pawl 
12 comes free of the stop 13. This position is shown in FIG. 8. As soon as 
the ejection plate 2 has been lifted sufficiently far, the coin 14 can 
drop out of the coin chute 19 into a coin collector, not shown in detail. 
Due to the fact that the ejection plate 2 and--as in the embodiment 
shown--the entire housing 15 are inclined rearwardly by an angle of about 
10.degree., there is not only obtained a favorable possibility for the 
removal of the articles taken out (FIG. 5), but assurance is also provided 
that the articles which are to be pushed out rest dependably against the 
ejection plate 2. Another advantage of the apparatus in accordance with 
the invention is that the thickness of the individual articles is 
unimportant. It is even possible to move newspapers of different thickness 
to the removal slot from the same pile of goods without rearrangement. 
Furthermore, it is immaterial how many newspapers are present in the 
stack. 
The ejection plate 2 which is visible through the window 9 after removal of 
the last article can, as shown in FIG. 2, bears a notice that the vending 
machine is empty. 
It is possible to apply the principle of the invention also to vending 
machines which have the slot arranged on the side. 
As indicated in FIG. 5, a cutout 22 is provided in the upper region of the 
ejection plate 2. The cutout 22 facilitates grabbing the article which has 
been lifted by the ejection plate 2 since the article can be grabbed on 
both sides at its upper edge within the region of the cutout 22.