Patent Document ID: 4354613
Application ID: 06149951
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. Apparatus for vending foodstuffs comprising: a plurality of dispensing means for dispensing said foodstuffs; a power source; an array of selector means, each being electrically isolated from and associated with one of said dispensing means for selecting a foodstuff, each selector means having an operating state and a quiescent state; scanning means for scanning the said array of selector means to determine which dispensing means has been selected; means for identifying a malfunctioning condition for each of said plurality of dispensing means, said means for identifying indicating any of said plurality of dispensing means which have previously malfunctioned and including monitoring means associated with each of said plurality of dispensing means for determining whether its associated dispensing means is in an operating or reset position; and control means responsive to said scanning means and said means for identifying for coupling said power source to the selected dispensing means if the same has not previously malfunctioned and causing the selection of said selected dispensing means to be refused if an indication that the same have previously malfunctioned is present, said indication that the same has previously malfunctioned including a determination that a selected dispensing means is in an operating position at the time dispensing is required.