Abstract:
A multiple product merchandising machine of the rotating drum type which is capable of vending large size bottles. It includes a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum mounted within the cabinet for rotation about its central longitudinal axis disposed vertically within the cabinet and having a plurality of annular product supporting shelves at spaced intervals along the drum, concentric with the axis of the drum, a plurality vertical walls extending between adjacent shelves and together with the shelves defining a plurality of individual product compartments, a central column extending the height of the drum and having wall portions adjacent each product compartment with at least one hole defined in at least some of the wall portions, the holes so positioned and arranged that a necked-down portion of a bottle supporting a cap can be inserted into each hole with the remainder of the bottle being disposed within the confines of an associated product compartment.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to multiple-product merchandising machines and more particularly to such machines which dispense many different kinds and sizes of products from a cylindrical drum mounted within a cabinet and configured to dispense the desired product to a customer upon the insertion in the machine of adequate currency or the establishment of adequate credit. Such a machine is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,051, owned by the same assignee as the present invention. 
     Some existing multiple-product merchandising machines of the type to which the present invention relates are generally configured to show to a potential customer as much of the available product as possible without rotation of the drum. This is accomplished in some cases by utilizing transparent shelves and/or walls to separate the shelves into compartments which hold individual products so that only a single product is accessible to a customer at one time. The products are accessible through access doors which are generally locked until adequate currency is inserted to allow the customer to open a door and access only the compartment adjacent it. Generally, the access doors are transparent to allow viewing of the product on the shelves and also an additional viewing area is sometimes provided to enlarge the total number of products that can be seen at one time. 
     Recently it has become desirable to vend, from all types of vending machines, larger bottles, such as 16 and 20 ounce bottles, because of consumer demand for larger quantities of soda and water in a single bottle. Because of the physical size limitations on drum type vending machines, both internally and externally, it is difficult to increase the size of the pie-shaped compartments in these types of vending machines such that would permit them to hold the, usually longer, larger volume bottles which do not fit into many of the existing drum-type vending machines. The diameter of the drum cannot be increased significantly because it would require a larger size cabinet which is not practical for moving through doorways or desirable in the additional floor space it would occupy. Furthermore, the substantial cost involved in the redesign and tooling in such a solution would be prohibitive. Most such drum-type machines have a hollow center column through which cooling air is distributed. This column diameter could theoretically be reduced and the compartment size correspondingly increased to possibly accommodate the larger bottles, but this would also be a substantial redesign of the shelves and other components making this solution likewise cost prohibitive. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention overcomes the above-described difficulties and disadvantages associated with prior art devices by providing a modification to current designs of drum-type vending machines that will accommodate larger bottles with relatively minor changes and little additional cost. 
     This is accomplished by the provision of a multiple-product merchandising machine of the drum-type which has a plurality of annular shelves arranged around and fixed to a center column for rotation therewith and which shelves are divided into a plurality of compartments by radially extending walls, the center column having walls extending between the shelves in which holes are provided which allow the necked-down portion and cap of a bottle to pass through the center column wall into the interior of the column while the main body of the bottle is contained within a compartment. 
     Advantages of the present invention are further accomplished by the provision of a multiple-product merchandising machines comprising: a cabinet; a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum mounted within the cabinet for rotation about its central longitudinal axis disposed vertically within the cabinet and having a plurality of annular product supporting shelves at spaced intervals along the drum, concentric with the axis of the drum, a plurality vertical walls extending between adjacent shelves and together with the shelves defining a plurality of individual product compartments, a central column extending the height of the drum and having wall portions adjacent each product compartment with at least one hole defined in at least some of the wall portions, the holes so positioned and arranged that a necked-down portion of a bottle supporting a cap can be inserted into each hole with the remainder of the bottle being disposed within the confines of an associated product compartment; a plurality of access doors in the cabinet for allowing access to the shelves for removal of merchandise therefrom; and a vend control system associated with the access doors for allowing the doors to be opened upon a customer establishing a proper amount of credit in the vend control system. 
     Further advantages of the present invention are obtained by such a machine wherein the at least one hole is vertically positioned within an associated compartment such that the neck of a bottle inserted in the hole engages a lower portion of the hole and rests on the wall and on a bottom edge of the bottle such that the bottle is disposed at an angle sloped downwardly toward an outer edge of the compartment. 
     Yet further advantages are obtained by such a machine wherein the hole is so positioned and arranged that the cap of a bottle disposed in the at least one hole engages a rear side of a wall portion so as to prevent outward movement of the bottle until it is lifted by a customer to be removed from the compartment. 
     Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the multiple-product merchandising machine of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view along the line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view along the line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view similar to FIG.  2 . of a portion of a shelf; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial front view of two shelves and an interconnecting wall of the drum of the preferred embodiment; 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial side view of a compartment with a bottle positioned in the compartment with its neck and cap positioned in an opening in the center column and its bottom resting on a shelf; and 
     FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing how the bottle is inserted and removed from the hole in the center column. 
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In the preferred embodiment of the multiple-product merchandising machine  10  of the present invention, as best seen in FIG. 1, a plurality of transparent access doors  12  are mounted in the front service door  14  which forms most of the front of the Cabinet  16  of the machine. The access doors  12  are in a common vertical plane and are slidably mounted within the service door  14  for horizontal sliding movement between a closed, normally locked position, as they are shown in FIG. 1, and an open position which permits access to the interior of the cabinet  16 . A handle  18 , also transparent, is mounted to or formed in each access door  12  to permit the doors to be manually moved between the open and closed positions. Adjacent each door  12  is a price display  20  which indicates the price of the product which can be purchased and removed from the adjacent door. The price displays are electronic, such as LED, LCD or similar electronic form. A similar electronic display  21  for credit and other messages is mounted on the service door  14 . 
     Also mounted in the service door  14  are coin and bill receiving and validating mechanisms  22  and  24 , respectively, and a coin return receptacle  26 , all of a form well known in the industry. The service door  14  is hinged on the left of the cabinet  16  as viewed in FIG. 2. A monetary door  27  is mounted within and forms part of the service door  14  and is also hinged on its left edge. The monetary door  27  covers the coin mechanism  22  and bill validator  24  which are contained within the space in the service door behind the monetary door  27  as seen in FIG.  2 . Also contained in this area behind the monetary door is the microprocessor based control panel  29  used to set various functions of the machine including prices and discounts in a well known manner. A front skirt  28  forms the lower part of the service door  14  and covers an area of the cabinet beneath the access doors  12  which houses refrigeration equipment, etc. 
     As best seen in FIG. 2, mounted within the cabinet  16  for rotation is a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum  30  disposed behind the access doors  12  and a glass plate  32  forming an additional product viewing area behind which is a transparent plastic air deflection and insulation sheet  33 . Fluorescent lights  35  are disposed on the service door  14  on each side of the viewing area to assist a customer in viewing the products. 
     The drum  30  is composed of a hexagonal sheet metal center column  34  which extends the full height of the drum. Each panel  36  which forms a side of the center column  34  has two rectangular holes  38  (FIG. 3) formed therein at the level of each of the annular shelves  40 . Each shelf  40  is composed of six identical transparent plastic trays  42 , each of which has tabs  44  which are received in the respective holes  38  and rest on the lower edge thereof to position the trays around the column  34 . Bolted or otherwise secured to the top of the column is a sheet metal top disk (not shown) with a diameter approximately the same as the diameter of the annular shelves  40 . 
     The bottom of the column  34  is fastened to a sheet metal base disk  46 , approximately the diameter of the annular shelves  40 , which in turn has bolted thereto a plastic ring gear  48  with a diameter also approximately the diameter of the shelves  40 . A sheet metal ring  50  with an L-shaped cross section is fastened to the bottom of disk  46  and has a diameter less than the diameter of the ring gear  48 . The ring  50  supports a plurality of rollers  52  on pins  54  mounted on the ring  50 . The rollers  52  ride on the upper surface of a sheet metal floor plate  56  which forms a floor to the merchandise containing area of the machine  10 , to support the drum  30  for rotation. 
     An annular plastic sleeve  58  is secured to the lower surface of base disk  46  and is matingly received in annular sleeve  60  secured to the floor plate  56 . Both the base disk  46  and floor plate  56  have corresponding circular holes  62  and  64 , respectively, which together with the sleeves  58  and  60  allow air to flow from the lower portion of the cabinet into the center column  34 . Air handling and refrigeration equipment (not shown) contained in the lower portion of the cabinet is used to force cold air in the center column  34  through the sleeves  58  and  60  where it is then distributed uniformly over the products on the shelves  40  by passing through the plurality of holes  66  and  68  formed in each of the panels  36 , as shown by the arrows in FIG.  3 . The holes  68  are formed specifically to allow cold air to pass from the inside of the center column  34  outward onto each of the shelves  40  formed by the trays  42 . Holes  66 , on the other hand, are formed to allow a bottle cap and neck to be passed into the inside of center column  34  as described in detail below. 
     Also forming part of the merchandise carrying drum  30  are a plurality of radially extending walls  70 , which in the preferred embodiment number six. Each of these walls  70  extend for the full height of the drum and are secured at their upper and lower ends to the top disk and base disk  46 , respectively, of the drum  30  for rotation therewith. The walls  70  are preferably plastic and transparent Trays  42  extend between adjacent walls  70  to form with the walls a plurality of compartments around each shelf  40 . 
     The trays  42  each have tabs  72  and  74  on opposite outer edges of each as shown in FIG.  5 . Tab  72  is formed on the lower edge of the tray while tab  74  is formed on the upper opposite edge of the tray so that two adjacent trays can have their tabs nest with one another when they are positioned in the drum  30 . The lower tab  72  of each tray  42  rests on the bottom surface of a rectangular notch  76  cut in the walls  70  at the proper places for locating the trays  42  to form the shelves  40 . Once all of the trays are positioned in the notches  76  between adjacent walls  70  a channel-shaped vertical locking strip  78 , preferably formed of a metal extrusion, is fixed at the ends of the adjacent walls  70  to prevent the tabs  72  and  74  from being removed from the notches  76  and thus locking the trays  42  in place. Formed as part of the strip  78  is a groove  80  which receives the edge of the wall  70  and helps rigidify it The strip is preferably bolted at its upper and lower ends to the top disk and bottom disk of the drum  30 . 
     Each of the trays  42  is generally dish-shaped with short side walls and can be further subdivided into smaller compartments. In each tray  42  there are provided a series of vertical channels  82  formed in the outer vertical edge wall  84  and facing the center column  34 . In the preferred embodiment there are preferably five such channels which allow the tray to be divided in half, in thirds or in quarters. On the inner wall  86  of each tray are formed a series of grooves  88  which are aligned with the channels  82 , partitioning walls  90  are formed to be received in the channels  82  and grooves  88  to divide the trays as desired. The outer vertical edge  92  of each partitioning wall  90  is a wide flange which is matingly received in the channels  82 . The inner vertical edge  94  of each partitioning wall  90  has a tab  96  extending from the lower portion thereof which is received in the grooves  88 . 
     In order to rigidify the partitions  90  they are designed to engage the bottom of the tray above them. To achieve this in the preferred embodiment the bottom of each tray  42  is provided with a long tab  98  (FIG. 4) in alignment with the channels  82  and grooves  88  in each tray. A connecting piece  100  (FIG. 3) is provided which has a deep groove (not shown) along its lower edge for receiving the upper edge of a partition  90  and has a shallower groove (not shown) in its upper edge for receiving the long tab  98  in the lower surface of a tray. To assemble a partition between a top and bottom tray, the partition is first placed in the bottom tray with its outer edge  92  in a desired channel  82  and its tab  96  in a corresponding grooves  88  so that the lower edge of the partition abuts the upper surface of the bottom tray. The connecting piece is then slid onto the top edge of the partition and simultaneously along the long tab  98  until it is abutting the center column  34 . This locks the partition rigidly in place. This assembly procedure is repeated for as many of the partitions as is desired. The partitions  90  are preferably all made of transparent plastic to allow a customer to see more product than is in a single compartment. 
     Referring again to holes  66 , two of these holes are formed above each tray  42  at a height relative to the tray such that bottles B of the 16 to 20 ounce variety can be positioned as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Holes  66  are each formed so that the cap of a bottle B can pass through the hole  66  and the bottle B is then tilted so that the edge of its base rests on the tray  42  and the neck of the bottle B rests on the edge of the center column forming hole  66 . As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 a partition  90  can be positioned on a tray  42  so as to divide the tray in half so that a bottle B can be positioned in each of the two compartments thus formed with their respective caps extending through a respective hole  66  thus doubling the bottle storage capacity on a shelf  40 , if desired. Otherwise, a single bottle B is positioned with its cap extending through one of the two holes  66  formed in a full sized compartment. Bottles can be positioned in as many or as few of the compartments, either full or half sized, on the shelves  40  as desired. As an example of the relative proportions of the trays  42 , holes  66  and the bottle sizes that can be utilized in the present invention, the holes  66  can be 1½ inches in diameter with its center approximately 3 inches above the tray  42  and with the distance from the surface of the center column  30  to the outer edge of the tray  42  being approximately 8½ inches. This arrangement supports 16 and 20 ounce bottles which are typically approximately 9 inches in height and about 3 inches in diameter, as well as 1 liter bottles which are typically 10 inches in height and approximately 3⅛ inches in diameter. Smaller products, such as 8, 10 and 12 ounce bottles, can also be utilized in this configuration. 
     In addition to providing room for bottles longer than could otherwise be positioned between the center column  34  and the outer edge of a tray  42 , the opening  66  allows the bottle to be hooked by the edge of the cap or an adjacent lip on the bottle neck, as shown in FIG.  6 . This keeps the bottle from moving outward on the tray  42  as the drum  30  is rotated. Otherwise, the bottle might become wedged between the outer edge of the tray  42  and the inside of the cabinet as the drum  30  is rotated, possibly causing damage to the machine or its contents. When a bottle is aligned with an access door  12  for removal, the customer merely opens the door and lifts the rear of the bottle and then the cap off of the edge of the opening  66  and withdraws the bottle from the opening as shown in FIG.  7 . 
     Alternatively, the opening  66  can be in the form of an embossment or recess formed in the side of column  34  for receiving the bottle cap and neck and not actually forming a hole in the wall of the column. Likewise, if desired it is contemplated that a plastic insert can be placed in the hole  66  of generally hat shaped configuration to receive the bottle cap and neck, with or without an opening into the interior of the column  34 . 
     Referring again to the operation of the machine  10 , the drum  30  is rotated by a reversible electric motor  106  (FIG. 3) whose operation is controlled by a microprocessor in a well known manner. The motor  106  has a gear  108  secured to its output shaft which is drivingly engaged with the ring gear  48  secured to the bottom of the drum  30 . Rotation of the motor  106  in either direction to allow a customer to review product in various areas of the drum  30  is controlled by two buttons  107  and  109  on the front of the cabinet  16  (FIG.  1 ). This allows a customer to rotate the drum  30  either left or right by pushing the appropriate button  107  or  109 . The microprocessor keeps track of the rotational position of the drum  30  through input from the motor  106  and a microswitch  111 . Switch  111  is activated when a home position pin  113 , secured to the bottom of ring gear  48 , engages the arm of a bi-directional rotating thermal break actuator  115  mounted for rotation in the cabinet floor. The actuator  115  has a camming surface on its lower end which engages the microswitch  111  and activates it when the pin  113  engages the arm of the actuator and moves it as the drum rotates in either direction. The actuator is biased by a spring (not shown) to a home position where it will be engaged by the pin  113  the next time it passes. 
     In order to accurately stop the turning of the drum  30  so that a selected compartment is located directly in front of the appropriate access door  12 , a spring loaded solenoid  110  is used. When the motor  106  is to be activated the solenoid  110  is first activated to remove its plunger  112  from one of a series of corresponding holes  114  formed in the underside of the ring gear  48 . There is a hole  114  corresponding to each possible partition  90  and wall  70  location in the drum  30  so that each compartment can be exactly registered with an appropriate access door  12 . Thus, for the preferred embodiment there will be thirty six holes  114 . 
     In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained. 
     As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.