US 4,852,767 AGranted

Vending machine dispenser

AssigneeEdina Technical Products, Inc.

InventorDallas Humphrey

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Abstract

A dispenser according to preferred teachings of the present invention is disclosed for use in a machine for vending generally cylindrical articles. The dispenser includes a generally cylindrical cradle rotatably mounted below the outlet of a storage enclosure. The enclosure is dimensioned to hold and store a plurality of articles in a serpentine column. The enclosure includes a guiding baffle for directing the bottom article into the outlet of the enclosure and an unweighting baffle which reduces the weight placed on the articles in the enclosure below the unweighting baffle and thus the weight transferred to the cradle by the article in the outlet. The cradle can then be rotated between a first position with an opening of a cavity formed in the cradle aligned with the outlet of the article storage enclosure for receiving an article from the enclosure and a second position with the cradle blocking the passage of articles through the outlet of the storage enclosure and with the opening of the cavity allowing the article to fall from the cavity through the opening. In its most preferred form, the cradle is formed as two generally equal semicylindrical halves which can be easily fabricated by injection molding and which are particularly adapted for interchanging for varying size articles to be vended.

Claims18

Dependent claims

In a machine for vending generally cylindrical articles, a dispenser comprising, in combination:

means for storing a plurality of the articles, with the storing means having an outlet of a size and shape allowing one of the plurality of articles to pass therethrough;
a cradle positioned adjacent the outlet of the storing means, with the cradle being generally cylindrical in shape and having an axis;
a cavity formed in the cradle for receiving the article to be ended, with the cavity having an opening;
and means for rotatably mounting the cradle below the outlet of the storing means about the axis for positioning the cradle between a first position with the opening of the cavity aligned with the outlet of the storing means for receiving the article to be vended from the storing means and a second position with the cradle blocking the passage of the articles through the outlet of the storing means and with the opening of the cavity allowing the article to fall from the cavity through the opening, wherein the cradle comprises, in combination:
first and second semicylindrical halves, with the cavity located in the second semicylindrical half allowing first semicylindrical halves of identical construction to be utilized with second semicylindrical halves having cavities of different sizes to dispense articles of corresponding sizes allowing the cradle to be interchanged in the dispenser for dispensing varying sized articles.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.