Patent ID: 7086198

Claim:
A floral arrangement vending machine operatively configured to store floral arrangements therewithin and to selectively dispense or allow retrieval of a floral arrangement upon receipt of a payment therefor, said machine comprising: a stack of carousels which are generally circular in plan view and each of which is configured to support a plurality of floral arrangements in separated compartments; a stack of at least two generally cylindrical modules, each of which has an exterior wall, the modules being interchangeably stackable to different configurations to form differently-sized machines, each generally cylindrical module containing at least one carousel therewithin, each module having an access door via which controlled access to a compartment of a carousel contained within the module can be had, the modules configured to contain floral arrangements in a suitably sealed manner to prevent unauthorized access to a carousel compartment; a generally cylindrical enclosed exterior housing formed from the exteriors of the stacked generally cylindrical modules; and an access control mechanism and structure operatively associated with the access doors and operative to control access to a carousel compartment in response to receipt of payment for a floral arrangement, wherein, at least one carousel includes a rotary shelf, the at least one shelf is perforated to allow air to flow through the shelf into adjacent modules, the exterior housing further includes a transparent dome mounted over the upper most carousel for creating a sufficiently warm environment for housing tropical plants and for allowing light to filter down through the modules, the carousels are configured to rotate about a common central axis extending parallel to the stack, and each carousel is configured to rotate relative to its module.