US2088038A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Description

July 27, 1937. SCOTT T AL Y 2,088,038

AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 10, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR C L.E. Sc 0ft E.A.S11@Lt]@ y 7, 1937. 1., E. scoTT ET AL AUTOMATIC VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 10, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheer 2 IQVENTORS L.E.Sc0it Patented July 27, 1937 Leslie E. Scott and Erne Calif st A. Smith, San Jose,

Application January 10, 1936, Serial No. 58,519

4 Claims.

This invention relates toautomatic coin controlled vending machines, and particularly to one for dispensing drinks and the like and which are put upin .bottles or other cylindrical containers.

In many respects the present structure is the same as that shown in our Patent No. 2,058,637,

dated October 2'7, 1936; our objects now being to improve the arrangement for guiding the bottles from the supporting disc to the delivery receptacle or chute. By reason ofthe improved arrangement the capacity of the machine is increased, the possibility of lag in the time of delivery is lessened, the construction is simplified, and the machine is easier to load, since no particular care need be taken in arranging the bottles on the supporting disc.

The above and other objects we accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine with the cover partly broken away.

Figure 2 isa front elevation of the machine partly in section. I

Figure 3is an enlarged fragmentary cross section taken through the delivery chute of the machine.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross section of the bottle deflector as on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a diagram of the control circuits of the apparatus.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the machine comprises a housing I provided with an upper supply and refrigerating chamber 2 and a lower mechanism compartment 3. The chamber 2 if used for dispensing merchandise which must be kept cold is insulated against heat and cold by suitable insulation 4 and is provided with a removable insulated top cover '5 having substan tially the same area as the chamber itself.

Turnably mounted in the chamber 2 and forming the goods supporting floor thereof is a disc 6, set as close as practical to the bottom wall of the chamber but spaced slightly from the side walls thereof. This disc serves as the support for a supply of merchandise to be dispensed, shown in this case as being cylindrical bottles I standing on end. The disc may be flat on top or it may have a slight downward slope from its center as shown.

The wall of the chamber 2 while mainly concentric with the disc 6, at the front of the housing l extends tangential to said disc in the direction of rotation of the latter for a certain distance as at 8, and then curves back as at 9 to a junction with the curved or concentric portion of the chamber. This forms a niche or recess v of sufficient depth to receive a bottle clear of the disc; such bottle as it moves off the disc being supported on a platform II] or the floor of the recess, which platform is flush with the disc. The chamber wall asa whole therefore, including the tangential portion, forms a retaining and guiding element for the row of bottles dispensed on the disc adjacent its periphery. Said platform at the back of the recess terminates in a circular opening ll slightly larger than a bottle through which the latter may drop.

With the rotation of'the disc the bottles I, which may be placed on said disc without any particular order or arrangement being necessary, are individually deflected into the recess and fed to a discharge position over the opening II, with the aid of a spring deflector bar l2. This bar extends outwardly from the center of-the disc to a termination substantially on a, radial line drawn from the center of the disc to the inception of the tangential wall portion 8. Said termination however is spaced from said portion 8 a distance approximately equal to the diameter of the bottle and is formed with a convex curvature in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the disc as plainly shown in Figure 1.

The bar is anchored at its inner end on a fixed shaft I3 projecting axially through the disc from below and on which the latter turns. The bar is shallow in height and is set close to the disc and is preferably formed with a downward slope on its forward side as shown at I4 in Figure 4. In this manner while the bar normally acts as a deflector for the bottles, the latter can if crowded too much, move over the bar.

A horizontally deflectable spring strip l5 extends substantially parallel to the tangential wall .8 from the opposite or inner side of the recess and overhangs the disc; the outer end of this strip being spaced from said tangential wall a'distance slightly greater than the diameter of a opening II. At the same time the bottles supported on the inner portion of the disc are gradually moved into contact with the leading or forward side of the deflector bar I2 and are shifted along the same toward its outer end as the space for such bottles develops by the discharge of the outermost bottles from the disc. The bottles rotate somewhat as they are thus moved and their movement toward the periphery of the disc is aided by the slope of the disc surface. In this manner a minimum of power is necessary to operate the disc to dispense the bottles. The spring bar I2 being capable of deflection in the movement of the disc and bottles, it can yield, avoiding the possibility of a pair of bottles becoming wedged in the opening between said bar and the adjacent wall of the chamber 2. Also, due to the lowness of the bar and the slope of its front wall any bottle may move over the same if crowded from behind and if the bar should be held against deflection by the mass of bottles on the opposite side of the bar.

Since the bottle receiving surface of the disc is unobstructed throughout, the bottles may be placed thereon indiscriminately and without any special order being necessary, since with the rotation of the disc all the bottles will ultimately be shifted to the forward side of the deflector bar and will be deflected by the same to a position on the platform Ill and thence into the outlet or discharge opening II.

As to the order of discharge it makes no difference whether a bottle moves to a discharge position from in front of the bar I2 or whether a bottle from between said bar and the spring I5 moves into a discharge position ahead of such other bottle, even though the latter contingency is not likely on account of the direction of rotation of the disc.

The provision of the yieldable strip I5, which forms a deflecting or dividing element, prevents possible wedging of the bottles in the entrance to the niche, since the bottles coming in contact with the end of the strip I5 will definitely be either deflected away from the niche or toward the same, depending on the initial point of contact of the outer end of the strip relative to the center of the bottle.

As in the previous device, the opening II is normally closed by a trap door I6 disposed immediately thereunder. This trap door is arranged to open downwardly and the weight of the bottle on said door depresses the same, and the bottle drops through the door and into a delivery compartment or vertical outlet chute of which the opening I I forms the top. The bottom of this compartment is provided with a cushion pad I8 to absorb the shock of dropping of the bottle while the front of the compartment is provided with a vertical opening I9. This opening is of slightly greater width than the bottle but projects upwardly from the pad to a height less than that of said bottle. Thus while the bottle may be removed through the opening by tilting the lower end of the bottle outwardly, it cannot well fall out of itself. The height of the compartment or chute from the pad to the bottom of the chamber 2 (or the level of the platform I0) is such that a bottle resting on the pad will hold the trap door open as shown in Figure 3; the door tending to close upwardly of itself by reason of a suitable spring 20 connected thereto.

The disc 6 is turnable on the fixed axial shaft I3 and the hub 2| of said disc depends into the compartment 3, the disc being supported by a suitable anti-friction bearing 22 about the hub. The hub is operatively connected to an electric motor 23 in the compartment 3 by suitable reduction gearing 24. The circuit M to the motor is normally open and is closed by the insertion of a coin in a coin switch box 25 of conventional form mounted on the front of the housing I in a convenient position above the delivery opening I9; The motor circuit M has a normally open relay switch R therein, which relay is connected to an auxiliary circuit A in which a normally open coin controlled switch C, and a normally closed trap door controlled switch D are interposed. The switch D is mounted behind the trap door adjacent its hinged end as shown in Figure 3, and is arranged so that it is held closed by the door when the latter is closed, but opens when the door opens. This circuit is identical with that shown and described in our Patent No. 1,857,881, dated May 10, 1932.

When the coin switch is closed by the insertion of a coin in the usual manner the auxiliary circuit A is closed, energizing the relay and closing the relay switch R and the motor circuit. The coin switch as usual is closed only momentarily, but the auxiliary circuit still remains closed as long as the motor circuit is closed and as long as the trap door switch is closed. This is because another wire W is connected at one end to the wire of circuit A in which the coin switch C is interposed, and at the other end to the motor circuit between the motor and the relay switch R. Therefore, when the switch R is closed, a relay holding circuit is closed through the line of the motor circuit in which switch R is interposed and including said switch, wire W, the relay coil, and back to the other line of the motor circuit (or main line) through that portion of circuit A in which switch D is interposed. Where switch D is opened, this relay holding circuit is of course broken, and switch R opens to stop the motor. The motor therefore functions to rotate the disc so that the containers may be advanced and fed onto the trap door as previously described.

As soon as the trap door is lowered by the weight of the bottle thereon the auxiliary and relay circuit is broken by the opening of switch D. The motor therefore ceases to operate and the motor circuit will not be again closed, regardless of the re-closing of the switch D by the closing of the trap door, until the coin controlled switch is again closed by the insertion of another coin. Only one bottle will thus be delivered at a time, since it is obvious that the drive of the motor ceases the instant a bottle is deposited on the trap door, and before the adjacent bottle can possibly be moved to a position over. the opening II.

The trap door is on a level somewhat lower than platform III, so that the bottle will be already dropping when it strikes said door, and its momentum will aid in opening the door, enabling a heavier door closing spring to be used than would otherwise be practicable.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, whatwe claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. A dispensing apparatus including a horizontal disc to support a plurality of individual containers to be dispensed, means to rotate the.

portion to the chute and on which the containers are received as they follow the tangential 'portion, and means cooperating with the containers on the disc to cause them to be successively shifted 011 the disc and onto said platform with the rotation of the disc; the container supporting surface: of the disc having a downward slope outwardly from its center whereby to aid in the zontal disc to support a plurality of individual containers to be dispensed, means to rotate the disc in one direction; an outlet chute for a single container depending from the level of the disc adjacent and to one side of the same, a retainoutermost side of the adjacent end .of' the chute,

a platform level with the disc leading along said tangential portion to the chute and on which the containers are received as they follow the tangential portion, and a fixed deflecting bar "extendingtransversely of and above the disc from adjacent the center thereof toward said tangential portion to a termination substantially on a line drawn radially of the disc from the inception of said tangential portion and spaced therefrom a distance approximately the width of a container.

3; A structure as in claim 2, in which said bar is of resilient material and is deflectable at its outer end in a horizontal direction.

4. A dispensing apparatus including a horizontal disc to support a plurality of individual containers to be dispensed, means to rotate the disc in-one direction, a chamber in which the disc is enclosed having a wall mainly concentric with the disc but having a niche, the outer wall of which is tangent to said chamber wall and extends therefrom in the direction of rotation of the disc, a platform at the bottom of the niche level with the disc, there being an outlet opening for a container in the platform at the back of the niche, means cooperating with the containers on the disc to cause them to be successively shifted off the disc and onto and along said platform with the rotation of the disc, a fixed defleeting bar extending transversely of and above the disc from adjacent the center thereof and extending toward the point of inception of the tangential side of the recess to a termination spaced from saidside a distance approximately the width of a container, and a horizontally deflectable spring strip extending toward said bar in overhanging relation to the disc from and secured to the side of the recess opposite and substantially parallel to its tangential side and spaced at its outer end from the outer end of the bar.

LESLIE E. SCO'IT.

ERNEST A. SMITH.

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