VENDING MACHINE

Abstract: A vending machine comprises a plurality of superposed, elongate shelf members (12) to support the articles to be dispensed; a wheeled carriage member (35) mounted on each shelf member (12) for rolling movement along it and having an article-engaging pusher (35); a motor (48) driving a coil (46) having turns in which is engaged a tag (45) forming part of the carriage member (35) for driving the latter towards a dispensing end of the shelf member (12); and yieldable restraining means (20, 22) adjacent said dispensing end of the shelf member (12) to restrain articles against falling off.

Description: VENDING MACHINE This invention relates to vending machines. A particular disadvantage of most vending machines is their inability to dispense articles of non-uniform shape, e.g. chocolate bars and similar products. One way of coping with this that has been devised is to provide a helical open-coil structure of large pitch and diameter so that individual articles can be located within successive turns of the "coils". This requires loading of the machine manually by a time- consuming, one-by-one, article insertion method and, due to the spacing between the articles, results in a low "fill ratio", i.e. the ratio of articles to required volume of machine. It is therefore considered desirable to provide a vending machine that obviates, or at least reduces, the above- mentioned and/or other disadvantages of known vending machines. According to the present invention there is provided a vending machine which is as claimed in claim 1. Preferably, the restraining means comprises resiliently movable exit restrictor means. Said restraining means or exit restrictor means may comprise a fixed angled lip member and/or an angled resilient flap member. Advantageously, one of said members (preferably said fixed lip member) is provided on said shelf member. Advantageously the other of said members (preferably said resilient flap member) is provided on an immediately adjacent upper shelf member which serves to constrain the articles in position on the first- mentioned shelf member. Preferably the drive means comprises an element providing a helical path extending longitudinally of the shelf member, the said carriage member being couplable to said element such that rotation of the element about its axis results in longitudinal movement of the carriage member. Preferably said helical path is provided by an open coil of relatively small diameter, the carriage member having a tag to enter in between a "turn" of the coil so as to be coupled to said element. Alternatively, the element may be a conventional externally threaded rod, and the said carriage member may be couplable to a nut threaded on said rod. By way of non-limiting example, one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of which Figure 1 is a schematic front elevation of a vending machine according to the present invention (with a front cover removed), Figure 2 is a schematic view taken along the line IT-II in Fig 1 , and Figure 3 is a schematic view taken in the direction of arrow III of Fig 2. As best shown in Fig 1 , the vending machine 10 comprises a plurality of shelf structures 12 extending left-to-right across the machine. Each shelf structure 12 is provided adjacent its rear edge with a substantially closed conduit 14 of rectangular-section extending longi tudinally of the shelf struc¬ ture and having a slotted top wall . Rearwardly of the conduit 14 , each shelf structure 12 is provided with an extension 16 that i s either of resilient material or , as shown , is of non-resilient material and connected to a forward main platform 15 by a resilient strip 18. At its left-hand end (as viewed in Fig. 1 ) the main platform 15 of each shelf structure 12 is provided with a fixed rigid lip 20 extending upwardly and leftwardly . The underside surface of each platform 15 is leftwards and which , together with the rigid lip 20 therebeneath , provides each shelf structure 12 with a resiliently restricted outlet 24 for the articles to be dispensed off that shelf structure . Two upstanding , laterally spaced , stud rods 26 are fixed in position at the rear of the vending machine 1 0. The shelf structures 12 are mounted by their rearward extensions 1 6 on the stud rods 26 , the separation between successive shelf structures 12 being set to predetermined spacings by short lengths of tubing 28 encompassing each rod 26 ( see Fig 3 ) . Permanent bending or deformation of the shelf structures 1 2 ( e. g . during loading of the shelf structures with articles to be vended ) is avoided due either to the resilient strips 1 8 or to the inherent resiliency of each extension 1 6 (when it is itself of resilient material ) . A carriage member 35 i s mounted on each shelf structure 1 2 for motion towards the sai d restricted outlet 24. Each carriage member has a set of three or four wheels 36 by which it can roll on the main platform 15 and has an upstanding front plate 38 to push against a row of articles supported by the main platform 1 5. The front plate 38 rises upwards from a horizontal plate 40 which extends rearwardly of the machine to overlie the rectangular-section conduit 1 4. A pair of r ibs 42 , 44 depend from plate 40 to lie one each side of an upstanding conduit wall 13. As the carriage member 35 in use rolls along the platform 15, upstanding wall 13 guides the ribs 42, 44 and thus the carriage 35 for linear movement longitudinally of the shelf structure 12. Plate 40 is also provided with a depending tag 45 5 which extends in a fore-and-aft plane. This tag 45 is inserted into the slot in the wall of the conduit 14 so as to lie between a 'turn 1 of a helical element 46 extending longitudinally in the conduit 14. The helical element 46 comprises an open coil of small pitch and small diameter (less than 25 mm and preferably of the 10 order of about 10 mm) . Each helical element 46 is attached to the output drive shaft of an electric motor 48 located adjacent the right-hand end of the associated shelf structure 12. The spaces between successive shelf structures 12 communicate, at their left-hand ends, with a vertical shaft l5or chute 55 having its bottom provided by a metal deflector plate 56. The deflector plate 56 is of arcuate shape and is pivoted at 57 its lowermost, right-hand end. The metal deflector plate 56 is urged resiliently in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig.1 ) about its pivot axis 57 0 so as to contact a fixed metal plate 49 and close a first electrical line through the metal plates 49 and 56. Another fixed metal plate 59 is disposed to the other side of deflector plate 56 such as to be contacted by it when plate 56 pivots anti-clockwise about its pivot axis 57 and so as 5 thereby to close a second electrical line through the metal plates 56 and 59. This arrangement of metal plates 49, 56 and 59 functions as a 2-way electrical switch which is referred to below (and is represented by chain lines in Fig. 1) by the reference numeral 58. 30 Each electric motor 48 is connected in series with an associated motor-switching relay (or equivalent solid-state device) specific to that motor, and all of such series connections are connected to the first electrical line of the switch 58. The second electrical line of switch 58 is in use connected to an escrow unit of coin-freed apparatus such that the escrow unit will operate to discharge its contents of coins or tokens into a cash collection box when the second electrical line of switch 58 is closed. The arrangement is such that when a relay is closed (or a relay-equivalent solid state device is operated) to start a specific motor 48, the latter will rotate its associated helical element 46 which, via tag 45, will drive carriage member 35 leftwards (as viewed in Fig 1). As a result, the carriage front plate 38 will push a whole row of the articles upon platform 15 in the same leftward direction against the resiliently restricted outlet or exit restrictor 24. The leftward motion continues until the resilience (provided by flap member 22 ) is overcome and the endrnost article drops off the shelf structure 12 so as to fall down the chute 55. When that dispensed article impinges, at the chute bottom, on the metal deflector plate 56, it deflects plate 56 anti-clockwise about its pivot axis 57 thereby opening the first electrical line of switch 58 and closing the second electrical line of switch 58. Opening of the first line cuts out the relay or solid state device providing the electric supply to the motor 48 whereby the latter stops the dispensing drive. This occurs before the resiliency of the exι 1 restrictor has again been overcome and thus before a second article drops off the shelf Structure 12. Closure or ihc second line of switch 58 effects operation of tti. ■ escrow unit as explained above. In slidably traversing the curved deflector plate 56 at the bottom of the vertical chute, the dispensed article passes through a one-way flap 60 that is pivotal ly supported by an upper horizontal axle 61. The arrangement is such that the flap 60 has a limit to its anti-clockwise pivotal movement about the axle 61 , this limit corresponding generally to the position shown in broken lines in Fig 1 , whereby a user of the vending machine cannot insert a hand up the chute 55 to pull an article from off a shelf structure 12. The axle 61 is provided with a cranked arm 62 that is engageable with a switch 64 connected in a circuit that provides an audible or visual signal when the switch 64 is actuated by passage of an article between the flap 60 and the bottom deflector plate 56. This signal serves to notify a user of the vending machine that a desired article has been dispensed and is available for collection in a collection zone 65 accessible through the front wall of the vending machine 10. Alternatively, such a signal can be actuated by closure of the second electrical line through switch 58 on contact of metal plates 56 and 59. It will be appreciated that the illustrated vending machine can be used for storing and vending or dispensing (e.g. by vending) items of irregular shape, such as chocolate bars and sandwiches in triangular-shaped moulded packs . Furthermore, such items can be loaded very easily into the illustrated machine from the front; and in being urged into εide-by-side contact by the carriages 35, will occupy minimum machine space. Moreover, it will be noted that the illustrated machine is of relatively simple construction. It can therefore be readily assembled from its component parts by non-skilled labour and can be readily modified for vending different products (e.g. to sell chocolate bars in place of cigarettes) by simply changing the lengths of tubing 28 so as to change the spacing between the neighbouring shelf structures 12. It will also be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the above-described and illustrated embodiment and that the invention includes within its scope other constructions, embodiments and modifications thereto. For example, the shelf structures 12 can be formed wholly or partially as extrusions of plastics material and be of p.t.f.e. or be coated therewith. Additionally or alternatively, each electric motor 48 may be associated with switch means responsive to the load on the motor to cut out the motor in the event that the load thereon is too high, e.g. in the event of jamming. Each of such load responsive switches may be actuated by the compressive forces arising in the associated helical element 46 (driven by that motor 48) as a result of the increased resistance to rotation of the helical element, or by the arcuate deformation of the associated helical element 46 as a result of such compressive forces. It will be clear that the coiled spring drive arrangement described in the preferred embodiment is appreciably cheaper than a wor -and- wormwheel drive or a rack-and-pinion drive.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A vending machine comprising: at least one elongate shelf member (12) to support articles to be dispensed; characterised in that a carriage member (35) is mounted on the or each shelf member (12) for movement along it and includes a pusher (25) for engaging a said article; and drive means (48, 46, 45) for moving the carriage member (35) towards an article-dispensing end of the shelf member (12). 2. A vending machine according to claim 1, characterised in that yieldable restraining means (20, 22) are disposed adjacent said dispensing end of the shelf member (12) to restrain articles against undesired falling off said dispensing end of the shelf member (12) . 3. A vending machine according to claim 2, characterised in that the said restraining means (20, 22) comprises resiliently openable exit restrictor means in the form of a fixed angled lip member (20) and/or an angled resilient flap member (22). 4. A vending machine according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the drive means comprises an element (46) providing a helical path extending longitudinally of the shelf member (12), the said carriage member (35) being couplable to said element (46) such that rotation of the element (46) about its axis results in longitudinal movement of the carriage member (35). 5. A vending machine according to claim 4, characterised in that said helical path is provided by an open coil (46) of relatively small diameter, the carriage member (35) having a tag (45) to enter in between a 'turn' of the coil (46) so as to be coupled to said element (46). 6. A vending machine according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the or each shelf member (12) is a longitudinal slotted, elongate, hollow rod of which the slotted face serves as the guiding means (13) for guiding co-operating parts (42, 44) of the carriage member (35). 7. A vending machine according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the element is a conventional extern¬ ally threaded rod, and the said carriage member (35) may be couplable to a nut threaded on said rod.

Inventors: RATZKER HERMAN BERTHOLD, RATZKER, HERMAN, BERTHOLD
Applicants: ADVANCED VENDING SERVICES
Application year: 1990
Main classification: G07F11
IPC codes: G07F11