Claims
- 1. A vending apparatus having an enclosure with an access opening formed therein for removal of an article therethrough from one side thereof by a customer on payment of a fee, means for supplying articles to be vended to the other side of said access opening, access opening control means including gating means and gating actuating means, said gating means being movable between a first position blocking removal of any articles through said access opening and a second position in which at least one article can be removed through said access opening, said gating actuating means being operable from a starting condition to an intermediate condition to shift said gating means from its first position to its second position and releasably retain said gating means in its said second position, said gating actuating means being responsive to removal of an article through said access opening to release said gating means, and resilient means for shifting said gating means from its second position to its first position following release thereof by said gating actuating means, wherein the improvement comprises, said gating means including at least two blocking members, and support means movably supporting said blocking members for mutually independent movement between said first and second positions with said blocking members in said first position extending across said access opening and blocking the same.
- 2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said gating means further includes a plurality of mutually independent carriages, one for each of said blocking members.
- 3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 or 2 in which said gating actuating means includes a pair of resilient elongated members one of which is movably supported and is adapted for releasably retaining said gating means in its said second position, the other of said resilient members extending in said access opening for actuation when an article is removed through said access opening, and said other resilient member when so actuated releasing said gating means.
- 4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which said gating actuating means includes at least two pairs of said resilient elongated members, one pair associated with each of said blocking members.
- 5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4 which includes means for adjusting the size of said access opening.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending U.S. Pat. application No. 284,330, filed July 17, 1981 U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,104.
This invention relates to a vending apparatus for such articles as newspapers, magazines or the like of the type set forth in said copending application No. 284,330 and, in order to avoid unnecessary repetition here, the disclosure of said copending application in its entirety is incorporated here by reference thereto. More particularly, the present application relates to such apparatus having improved security against improper removal of an article therefrom.
In the vending apparatus of our prior application U.S. Pat. No. 284,330, access opening gating means [73] comprises a pair of blocking pins [78] connected adjacent to their lower ends to a cross bar [74]. In that arrangement, a downward force on one of the blocking pins [78] is transmitted to the other through a cross bar [74]. As a result, it is possible to prevent both blocking pins [78] from being returned upward to their blocking position by obstructing one of them.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide such an apparatus with improved gating means controlling access to the articles to be vended after the deposit of the required amount of money.
In carrying out the present invention, means are provided for delivering the articles to be vended to a position adjacent an access opening through which the article or articles can be removed by a customer following deposit of the required amount of money and operation of the vending machine in a prescribed manner. A unique feature of the present invention resides in access opening control means including gating means which, unless actuated by the customer following deposit of the prescribed amount of money, prevents withdrawal of articles through the access opening. In a preferred embodiment, the gating means comprises at least two independently movable blocking members which normally obstruct the access opening to prevent the removal of articles. Following deposit of the required fee and actuation of the vending machine, the gating means is actuated to shift each of the blocking members to its second position permitting withdrawal of an article through the access opening. Removal of the article actuates the gating means to return the blocking members to their starting positions obstructing the access opening.
US Referenced Citations (1)
| Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
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4236650 |
Medley |
Dec 1980 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
284330 |
Jul 1981 |
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Patent Grant
4445625
