Vending apparatus and system for automated dispensing of disks

An automatic vending apparatus for digital storage disks, comprising:

• a body having a chamber sized for storing a plurality of disks stacked in substantially vertical orientation, the body including
• a base having a periphery, and
• a wall connected to the periphery of the base, the wall having a slot sized to allow passage of a disk through it;
• a spring;
• a plate having a top side and a bottom side, the bottom side supported above the base and biased away from the base by the spring, the plate moveable between a first position in which the plate is positioned above the slot and a second position in which the plate is positioned below the slot, the plate sized to support the disks on its top side;
• a tray having a bottom surface and a top surface having a recessed portion, the tray pivotally mounted for movement between a fully closed position, in which the recessed portion is positioned inside the chamber and in which the bottom surface of the tray maintains the plate in the second position, and a fully open position wherein the recessed portion is positioned outside the chamber and the plate is in the first position, wherein the recessed portion is sized to receive a disk from the stack of disks when the tray is in the fully closed position;
• user interface means for receiving a dispensing request from a user and for generating a dispensing command in response to the dispensing request;
• and
• latch means for latching the tray in the fully closed position and for unlatching the tray in response to the dispensing command.