Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6367895
-
Patent Number
6,367,895
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, August 22, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 9, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 312 971
- 312 125
- 312 135
- 312 305
- 312 1381
- 312 116
- 312 35
- 312 36
- 312 72
- 312 73
- 221 12
- 221 120
- 221 121
- 221 122
- 221 155
- 221 242
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A multiple product merchandising machine of the rotating drum type which is capable of vending large size bottles. It includes a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum mounted within the cabinet for rotation about its central longitudinal axis disposed vertically within the cabinet and having a plurality of annular product supporting shelves at spaced intervals along the drum, concentric with the axis of the drum, a plurality vertical walls extending between adjacent shelves and together with the shelves defining a plurality of individual product compartments, a central column extending the height of the drum and having wall portions adjacent each product compartment with at least one hole defined in at least some of the wall portions, the holes so positioned and arranged that a necked-down portion of a bottle supporting a cap can be inserted into each hole with the remainder of the bottle being disposed within the confines of an associated product compartment.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to multiple-product merchandising machines and more particularly to such machines which dispense many different kinds and sizes of products from a cylindrical drum mounted within a cabinet and configured to dispense the desired product to a customer upon the insertion in the machine of adequate currency or the establishment of adequate credit. Such a machine is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,051, owned by the same assignee as the present invention.
Some existing multiple-product merchandising machines of the type to which the present invention relates are generally configured to show to a potential customer as much of the available product as possible without rotation of the drum. This is accomplished in some cases by utilizing transparent shelves and/or walls to separate the shelves into compartments which hold individual products so that only a single product is accessible to a customer at one time. The products are accessible through access doors which are generally locked until adequate currency is inserted to allow the customer to open a door and access only the compartment adjacent it. Generally, the access doors are transparent to allow viewing of the product on the shelves and also an additional viewing area is sometimes provided to enlarge the total number of products that can be seen at one time.
Recently it has become desirable to vend, from all types of vending machines, larger bottles, such as 16 and 20 ounce bottles, because of consumer demand for larger quantities of soda and water in a single bottle. Because of the physical size limitations on drum type vending machines, both internally and externally, it is difficult to increase the size of the pie-shaped compartments in these types of vending machines such that would permit them to hold the, usually longer, larger volume bottles which do not fit into many of the existing drum-type vending machines. The diameter of the drum cannot be increased significantly because it would require a larger size cabinet which is not practical for moving through doorways or desirable in the additional floor space it would occupy. Furthermore, the substantial cost involved in the redesign and tooling in such a solution would be prohibitive. Most such drum-type machines have a hollow center column through which cooling air is distributed. This column diameter could theoretically be reduced and the compartment size correspondingly increased to possibly accommodate the larger bottles, but this would also be a substantial redesign of the shelves and other components making this solution likewise cost prohibitive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the above-described difficulties and disadvantages associated with prior art devices by providing a modification to current designs of drum-type vending machines that will accommodate larger bottles with relatively minor changes and little additional cost.
This is accomplished by the provision of a multiple-product merchandising machine of the drum-type which has a plurality of annular shelves arranged around and fixed to a center column for rotation therewith and which shelves are divided into a plurality of compartments by radially extending walls, the center column having walls extending between the shelves in which holes are provided which allow the necked-down portion and cap of a bottle to pass through the center column wall into the interior of the column while the main body of the bottle is contained within a compartment.
Advantages of the present invention are further accomplished by the provision of a multiple-product merchandising machines comprising: a cabinet; a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum mounted within the cabinet for rotation about its central longitudinal axis disposed vertically within the cabinet and having a plurality of annular product supporting shelves at spaced intervals along the drum, concentric with the axis of the drum, a plurality vertical walls extending between adjacent shelves and together with the shelves defining a plurality of individual product compartments, a central column extending the height of the drum and having wall portions adjacent each product compartment with at least one hole defined in at least some of the wall portions, the holes so positioned and arranged that a necked-down portion of a bottle supporting a cap can be inserted into each hole with the remainder of the bottle being disposed within the confines of an associated product compartment; a plurality of access doors in the cabinet for allowing access to the shelves for removal of merchandise therefrom; and a vend control system associated with the access doors for allowing the doors to be opened upon a customer establishing a proper amount of credit in the vend control system.
Further advantages of the present invention are obtained by such a machine wherein the at least one hole is vertically positioned within an associated compartment such that the neck of a bottle inserted in the hole engages a lower portion of the hole and rests on the wall and on a bottom edge of the bottle such that the bottle is disposed at an angle sloped downwardly toward an outer edge of the compartment.
Yet further advantages are obtained by such a machine wherein the hole is so positioned and arranged that the cap of a bottle disposed in the at least one hole engages a rear side of a wall portion so as to prevent outward movement of the bottle until it is lifted by a customer to be removed from the compartment.
Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the multiple-product merchandising machine of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a cross sectional view along the line
2
—
2
of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is an enlarged partial cross sectional view along the line
3
—
3
of
FIG. 2
;
FIG. 4
is an enlarged partial cross sectional view similar to FIG.
2
. of a portion of a shelf;
FIG. 5
is an enlarged partial front view of two shelves and an interconnecting wall of the drum of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 6
is an enlarged partial side view of a compartment with a bottle positioned in the compartment with its neck and cap positioned in an opening in the center column and its bottom resting on a shelf; and
FIG. 7
is a view similar to
FIG. 6
showing how the bottle is inserted and removed from the hole in the center column.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the preferred embodiment of the multiple-product merchandising machine
10
of the present invention, as best seen in
FIG. 1
, a plurality of transparent access doors
12
are mounted in the front service door
14
which forms most of the front of the Cabinet
16
of the machine. The access doors
12
are in a common vertical plane and are slidably mounted within the service door
14
for horizontal sliding movement between a closed, normally locked position, as they are shown in
FIG. 1
, and an open position which permits access to the interior of the cabinet
16
. A handle
18
, also transparent, is mounted to or formed in each access door
12
to permit the doors to be manually moved between the open and closed positions. Adjacent each door
12
is a price display
20
which indicates the price of the product which can be purchased and removed from the adjacent door. The price displays are electronic, such as LED, LCD or similar electronic form. A similar electronic display
21
for credit and other messages is mounted on the service door
14
.
Also mounted in the service door
14
are coin and bill receiving and validating mechanisms
22
and
24
, respectively, and a coin return receptacle
26
, all of a form well known in the industry. The service door
14
is hinged on the left of the cabinet
16
as viewed in
FIG. 2. A
monetary door
27
is mounted within and forms part of the service door
14
and is also hinged on its left edge. The monetary door
27
covers the coin mechanism
22
and bill validator
24
which are contained within the space in the service door behind the monetary door
27
as seen in FIG.
2
. Also contained in this area behind the monetary door is the microprocessor based control panel
29
used to set various functions of the machine including prices and discounts in a well known manner. A front skirt
28
forms the lower part of the service door
14
and covers an area of the cabinet beneath the access doors
12
which houses refrigeration equipment, etc.
As best seen in
FIG. 2
, mounted within the cabinet
16
for rotation is a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum
30
disposed behind the access doors
12
and a glass plate
32
forming an additional product viewing area behind which is a transparent plastic air deflection and insulation sheet
33
. Fluorescent lights
35
are disposed on the service door
14
on each side of the viewing area to assist a customer in viewing the products.
The drum
30
is composed of a hexagonal sheet metal center column
34
which extends the full height of the drum. Each panel
36
which forms a side of the center column
34
has two rectangular holes
38
(
FIG. 3
) formed therein at the level of each of the annular shelves
40
. Each shelf
40
is composed of six identical transparent plastic trays
42
, each of which has tabs
44
which are received in the respective holes
38
and rest on the lower edge thereof to position the trays around the column
34
. Bolted or otherwise secured to the top of the column is a sheet metal top disk (not shown) with a diameter approximately the same as the diameter of the annular shelves
40
.
The bottom of the column
34
is fastened to a sheet metal base disk
46
, approximately the diameter of the annular shelves
40
, which in turn has bolted thereto a plastic ring gear
48
with a diameter also approximately the diameter of the shelves
40
. A sheet metal ring
50
with an L-shaped cross section is fastened to the bottom of disk
46
and has a diameter less than the diameter of the ring gear
48
. The ring
50
supports a plurality of rollers
52
on pins
54
mounted on the ring
50
. The rollers
52
ride on the upper surface of a sheet metal floor plate
56
which forms a floor to the merchandise containing area of the machine
10
, to support the drum
30
for rotation.
An annular plastic sleeve
58
is secured to the lower surface of base disk
46
and is matingly received in annular sleeve
60
secured to the floor plate
56
. Both the base disk
46
and floor plate
56
have corresponding circular holes
62
and
64
, respectively, which together with the sleeves
58
and
60
allow air to flow from the lower portion of the cabinet into the center column
34
. Air handling and refrigeration equipment (not shown) contained in the lower portion of the cabinet is used to force cold air in the center column
34
through the sleeves
58
and
60
where it is then distributed uniformly over the products on the shelves
40
by passing through the plurality of holes
66
and
68
formed in each of the panels
36
, as shown by the arrows in FIG.
3
. The holes
68
are formed specifically to allow cold air to pass from the inside of the center column
34
outward onto each of the shelves
40
formed by the trays
42
. Holes
66
, on the other hand, are formed to allow a bottle cap and neck to be passed into the inside of center column
34
as described in detail below.
Also forming part of the merchandise carrying drum
30
are a plurality of radially extending walls
70
, which in the preferred embodiment number six. Each of these walls
70
extend for the full height of the drum and are secured at their upper and lower ends to the top disk and base disk
46
, respectively, of the drum
30
for rotation therewith. The walls
70
are preferably plastic and transparent Trays
42
extend between adjacent walls
70
to form with the walls a plurality of compartments around each shelf
40
.
The trays
42
each have tabs
72
and
74
on opposite outer edges of each as shown in FIG.
5
. Tab
72
is formed on the lower edge of the tray while tab
74
is formed on the upper opposite edge of the tray so that two adjacent trays can have their tabs nest with one another when they are positioned in the drum
30
. The lower tab
72
of each tray
42
rests on the bottom surface of a rectangular notch
76
cut in the walls
70
at the proper places for locating the trays
42
to form the shelves
40
. Once all of the trays are positioned in the notches
76
between adjacent walls
70
a channel-shaped vertical locking strip
78
, preferably formed of a metal extrusion, is fixed at the ends of the adjacent walls
70
to prevent the tabs
72
and
74
from being removed from the notches
76
and thus locking the trays
42
in place. Formed as part of the strip
78
is a groove
80
which receives the edge of the wall
70
and helps rigidify it The strip is preferably bolted at its upper and lower ends to the top disk and bottom disk of the drum
30
.
Each of the trays
42
is generally dish-shaped with short side walls and can be further subdivided into smaller compartments. In each tray
42
there are provided a series of vertical channels
82
formed in the outer vertical edge wall
84
and facing the center column
34
. In the preferred embodiment there are preferably five such channels which allow the tray to be divided in half, in thirds or in quarters. On the inner wall
86
of each tray are formed a series of grooves
88
which are aligned with the channels
82
, partitioning walls
90
are formed to be received in the channels
82
and grooves
88
to divide the trays as desired. The outer vertical edge
92
of each partitioning wall
90
is a wide flange which is matingly received in the channels
82
. The inner vertical edge
94
of each partitioning wall
90
has a tab
96
extending from the lower portion thereof which is received in the grooves
88
.
In order to rigidify the partitions
90
they are designed to engage the bottom of the tray above them. To achieve this in the preferred embodiment the bottom of each tray
42
is provided with a long tab
98
(
FIG. 4
) in alignment with the channels
82
and grooves
88
in each tray. A connecting piece
100
(
FIG. 3
) is provided which has a deep groove (not shown) along its lower edge for receiving the upper edge of a partition
90
and has a shallower groove (not shown) in its upper edge for receiving the long tab
98
in the lower surface of a tray. To assemble a partition between a top and bottom tray, the partition is first placed in the bottom tray with its outer edge
92
in a desired channel
82
and its tab
96
in a corresponding grooves
88
so that the lower edge of the partition abuts the upper surface of the bottom tray. The connecting piece is then slid onto the top edge of the partition and simultaneously along the long tab
98
until it is abutting the center column
34
. This locks the partition rigidly in place. This assembly procedure is repeated for as many of the partitions as is desired. The partitions
90
are preferably all made of transparent plastic to allow a customer to see more product than is in a single compartment.
Referring again to holes
66
, two of these holes are formed above each tray
42
at a height relative to the tray such that bottles B of the 16 to 20 ounce variety can be positioned as shown in
FIGS. 6 and 7
. Holes
66
are each formed so that the cap of a bottle B can pass through the hole
66
and the bottle B is then tilted so that the edge of its base rests on the tray
42
and the neck of the bottle B rests on the edge of the center column forming hole
66
. As shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4
a partition
90
can be positioned on a tray
42
so as to divide the tray in half so that a bottle B can be positioned in each of the two compartments thus formed with their respective caps extending through a respective hole
66
thus doubling the bottle storage capacity on a shelf
40
, if desired. Otherwise, a single bottle B is positioned with its cap extending through one of the two holes
66
formed in a full sized compartment. Bottles can be positioned in as many or as few of the compartments, either full or half sized, on the shelves
40
as desired. As an example of the relative proportions of the trays
42
, holes
66
and the bottle sizes that can be utilized in the present invention, the holes
66
can be 1½ inches in diameter with its center approximately 3 inches above the tray
42
and with the distance from the surface of the center column
30
to the outer edge of the tray
42
being approximately 8½ inches. This arrangement supports 16 and 20 ounce bottles which are typically approximately 9 inches in height and about 3 inches in diameter, as well as 1 liter bottles which are typically 10 inches in height and approximately 3⅛ inches in diameter. Smaller products, such as 8, 10 and 12 ounce bottles, can also be utilized in this configuration.
In addition to providing room for bottles longer than could otherwise be positioned between the center column
34
and the outer edge of a tray
42
, the opening
66
allows the bottle to be hooked by the edge of the cap or an adjacent lip on the bottle neck, as shown in FIG.
6
. This keeps the bottle from moving outward on the tray
42
as the drum
30
is rotated. Otherwise, the bottle might become wedged between the outer edge of the tray
42
and the inside of the cabinet as the drum
30
is rotated, possibly causing damage to the machine or its contents. When a bottle is aligned with an access door
12
for removal, the customer merely opens the door and lifts the rear of the bottle and then the cap off of the edge of the opening
66
and withdraws the bottle from the opening as shown in FIG.
7
.
Alternatively, the opening
66
can be in the form of an embossment or recess formed in the side of column
34
for receiving the bottle cap and neck and not actually forming a hole in the wall of the column. Likewise, if desired it is contemplated that a plastic insert can be placed in the hole
66
of generally hat shaped configuration to receive the bottle cap and neck, with or without an opening into the interior of the column
34
.
Referring again to the operation of the machine
10
, the drum
30
is rotated by a reversible electric motor
106
(
FIG. 3
) whose operation is controlled by a microprocessor in a well known manner. The motor
106
has a gear
108
secured to its output shaft which is drivingly engaged with the ring gear
48
secured to the bottom of the drum
30
. Rotation of the motor
106
in either direction to allow a customer to review product in various areas of the drum
30
is controlled by two buttons
107
and
109
on the front of the cabinet
16
(FIG.
1
). This allows a customer to rotate the drum
30
either left or right by pushing the appropriate button
107
or
109
. The microprocessor keeps track of the rotational position of the drum
30
through input from the motor
106
and a microswitch
111
. Switch
111
is activated when a home position pin
113
, secured to the bottom of ring gear
48
, engages the arm of a bi-directional rotating thermal break actuator
115
mounted for rotation in the cabinet floor. The actuator
115
has a camming surface on its lower end which engages the microswitch
111
and activates it when the pin
113
engages the arm of the actuator and moves it as the drum rotates in either direction. The actuator is biased by a spring (not shown) to a home position where it will be engaged by the pin
113
the next time it passes.
In order to accurately stop the turning of the drum
30
so that a selected compartment is located directly in front of the appropriate access door
12
, a spring loaded solenoid
110
is used. When the motor
106
is to be activated the solenoid
110
is first activated to remove its plunger
112
from one of a series of corresponding holes
114
formed in the underside of the ring gear
48
. There is a hole
114
corresponding to each possible partition
90
and wall
70
location in the drum
30
so that each compartment can be exactly registered with an appropriate access door
12
. Thus, for the preferred embodiment there will be thirty six holes
114
.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
Claims
- 1. A multiple product merchandising machine, the machine dispensing a bottle of a product, the machine comprising:a cabinet; a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum mounted within the cabinet for rotation about its central longitudinal axis disposed vertically within the cabinet and having a plurality of annular product supporting shelves at spaced intervals along the drum, concentric with the axis of the drum, a plurality of vertical walls extending between adjacent shelves and together with the shelves defining a plurality of individual product compartments, a central column extending the height of the drum and having wall portions adjacent each product compartment with at least one hole defined in at least some of the wall portions, the at least one hole so positioned and arranged that a necked-down portion of the bottle supporting a cap can be inserted into the at least one hole with the remainder of the bottle being disposed within the confines of an associated product compartment; and a plurality of access doors in the cabinet for allowing access to the shelves for removal of merchandise therefrom; and a vend control system associated with the access doors for allowing the doors to be opened upon a customer establishing a proper amount of credit in the vend control system.
- 2. A multiple-product merchandising machine as defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one hole is vertically positioned within an associated compartment such that the necked-down portion of the bottle inserted in the hole engages a lower portion of the hole and rests on the wall portion in a manner such that the bottle is disposed at an angle sloped downwardly toward an outer edge of the compartment.
- 3. A multiple-product merchandising machine as defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one hole is so positioned and arranged that the cap of the bottle disposed in the at least one hole engages a rear side of the wall portion so as to prevent outward movement of the bottle until it is lifted by a customer to be removed from the compartment.
- 4. In a multiple product merchandising machine, the machine dispensing a bottle of a product, the machine having a cabinet; a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum mounted within the cabinet for rotation about its central longitudinal axis disposed vertically within the cabinet and having a plurality of annular product supporting shelves at spaced intervals along the drum, concentric with the axis of the drum, a plurality of vertical walls extending between adjacent shelves and together with the shelves defining a plurality of individual product compartments, a central column extending the height of the drum and having wall portions adjacent each product compartment; a plurality of access doors in the cabinet for allowing access to the shelves for removal of merchandise therefrom; and a vend control system associated with the access doors for allowing the doors to be opened upon a customer establishing a proper amount of credit in the vend control system, wherein the improvement comprises:at least some of the wall portions defining at least one hole, the at least one hole so positioned and arranged that a necked-down portion of the bottle supporting a cap can be inserted into the at least one hole with the remainder of the bottle being disposed within the confines of an associated product compartment.
- 5. In a multiple product merchandising machine as defined in claim 4 wherein the at least one hole is vertically positioned within an associated compartment such that the necked-down portion of the bottle inserted in the hole engages a lower portion of the hole and rests on the wall portion in a manner such that the bottle is disposed at an angle sloped downwardly toward an outer edge of the compartment.
- 6. In a multiple product merchandising machine as defined in claim 4 wherein the at least one hole is so positioned and arranged that the cap of the bottle disposed in the at least one hole engages a rear side of the wall portion so as to prevent outward movement of the bottle until it is lifted by a customer to be removed from the compartment.
US Referenced Citations (7)