Cup dispenser for vending machines

An apparatus of a type that dispenses a lowermost cup from a stack of nested cups, comprising:

• a housing;
• a case rotatably mounted within said housing;
• a plurality of dispensing means, pivotally mounted within said case., for dispensing the lowermost cup from the stack of nested cups;
• an adjusting means for adjusting said plurality of dispensing means relative to said housing to accommodate an under-rim cup diameter of the nested cups;
• and
• an actuating means for actuating said plurality of dispensing means to dispense the lowermost cup from the stack of nested cups, wherein said actuating means includes a ring mounted within said housing and rotatable relative to said case and said housing.

An apparatus of a type that dispenses a lowermost cup from a stack of nested cups, comprising:

• a housing;
• a case rotatably mounted within said housing;
• a plurality of dispensing means, pivotally mounted within said case, for dispensing the lowermost cup from the stack of nested cups;
• an adjusting means for adjusting said plurality of dispensing means relative to said housing to accommodate an under-rim cup diameter of the nested cups;
• an actuating means for actuating said plurality of dispensing means to dispense the lowermost cup from the stack of nested cups;
• and
• an aligning means for facilitating alignment of said dispensing means relative to one another during assembly of the apparatus.

An apparatus of a type that dispenses a lowermost cup from a stack of nested cups, comprising:

• a housing having an opening formed through said housing;
• a plurality of dispensing means mounted within said housing and projecting at least partially into said opening to selectively support and dispense the lowermost cup;
• an adjusting means for adjusting to what extent said plurality of dispensing means project into said opening to accommodate an under-rim cup diameter of the nested cups, wherein said adjusting means contemporaneously pivots and
• revolves said plurality of dispensing means relative to said housing;
• and
• an actuating means for actuating said plurality of dispensing means to dispense the lowermost cup from the stack of nested cups.

An apparatus of a type that dispenses a lowermost cup from a stack of nested cups, comprising:

• a housing;
• a case mounted within said housing;
• a plurality of dispensing means, pivotably mounted within said case, for dispensing the lowermost cup from the stack of nested cups;
• an adjusting means for adjusting said plurality of dispensing means relative to said housing to accommodate an under-rim cup diameter of the nested cups;
• an actuating means for actuating said plurality of dispensing means to dispense the lowermost cup from the stack of nested cups;
• an aligning means for aligning each of said plurality of dispensing means relative to said case prior to mounting of said case within said housing;
• and
• a holding means for holding each of said plurality of dispensing means in alignment with said case prior to mounting of said case within said housing.