BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:
FIGS. 1 and 2 are simplified pictorial illustrations of a vending machine, constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, with a dispensing door closed;
FIGS. 3 and 4 are simplified pictorial illustrations of the vending machine with the dispensing door open;
FIG. 5 is a simplified pictorial illustration of a tray with a one-way stopper used in the vending machine, constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 6 and 6A are simplified partially sectional and pictorial illustrations, respectively, of the vending machine, showing the dispensing door closed and the one-way stopper prior to being deployed;
FIGS. 7 and 7A are simplified partially sectional and pictorial illustrations, respectively, of extracting merchandise from the vending machine;
FIGS. 8 and 8A are simplified partially sectional and pictorial illustrations, respectively, of closing the dispensing door after extracting merchandise from the vending machine;
FIGS. 9 and 9A are simplified partially sectional and pictorial illustrations, respectively, of the one-way stopper preventing returning the merchandise back into the vending machine;
FIGS. 10 and 10A are simplified partially sectional and pictorial illustrations, respectively, of the vending machine with no merchandise therein and the one-way stopper deployed; and
FIGS. 11 and 11A are simplified partially sectional and pictorial illustrations, respectively, of the vending machine with no merchandise therein and the dispensing door blocked from being opened by the one-way stopper.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-4, which illustrate a vending machine, constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Vending machine 10 may include a housing 12 that houses therein one or more trays 14 loaded with merchandise 16 (e.g., beverage cans) for dispensing thereof. Vending machine 10 may further include standard components of vending machines, such as but not limited to, a coin slot, a coin-operated mechanism, a lockable service door (which may be opened only by authorized personnel for replenishing the merchandise 16 in the trays 14) and refrigeration apparatus, if needed (all not shown), which are well known to those skilled in the art and require no description for the skilled artisan. The coin-operated mechanism is in operative communication with a dispensing door 18 of the tray 14, as is known in the art. As is known, the trays 14 are preferably slanted so the merchandise 16 is urged against the dispensing door 18 by gravity and the weight of the merchandise 16. One or more sensors 15 (shown in phantom lines in FIG. 2), such as but not limited to, photoelectric cells, load cells, capacitance sensors and the like, may be mounted on or in the vicinity of tray 14 to sense the presence of merchandise 16, such as to count the amount of merchandise 16 that has been purchased by an individual or to count the amount of merchandise 16 left on the tray 14.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the vending machine 10 with the dispensing door 18 closed, whereas FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the vending machine 10 with the dispensing door 18 open.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 5, 6 and 6A, which illustrate tray 14 more in detail. Dispensing door 18 may be shaped in accordance with the merchandise 16, such as in the case of beverage cans, being arcuately shaped. Door 18 may be biasedly pivoted about a pivot axle 20 by means of a biasing device 22, such as a spring (FIGS. 6 and 6A). (Alternatively, door 18 may be a sliding door.) Door 18 may be formed with a window 24 (FIG. 5) in which is disposed a one-way stopper 26. One-way stopper 26 may be biasedly pivoted about a pivot axle 28 by means of a biasing device 30, such as a spring (FIGS. 6 and 6A). Biasing device 22 urges dispensing door 18 to rotate clockwise (in the sense of the drawing figures) about pivot axle 20, and biasing device 30 urges one-way stopper 26 to rotate clockwise about pivot axle 28. One-way stopper 26 may include a pair of lugs 32 that jut sideways from the lateral sides of stopper 26.
FIGS. 6 and 6A illustrate the dispensing door 18 closed and the one-way stopper 26 prior to being deployed. One-way stopper 26 lies flat due to the weight of merchandise 16 lying thereupon.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 7 and 7A, which illustrate extracting merchandise 16 from the vending machine 10. The merchandise 16 may be extracted by pulling the merchandise 16 from the tray 14. This action overcomes the countering force of biasing device 22 and rotates the door 18 counterclockwise (in the sense of the drawing figures) about pivot axle 20, as indicated by arrow 33. One-way stopper 26 is now free from the weight bearing upon it and biasing device 30 urges one-way stopper 26 to swing clockwise about pivot axle 28 and upwards, as indicated by arrow 34.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 8 and 8A, which illustrate closing the dispensing door 18 after extracting merchandise 16 from the vending machine 10. Biasing device 22 urges door 18 to rotate clockwise (in the sense of the drawing figures) about pivot axle 20, as indicated by arrow 35. The bottom of door 18 contacts and pushes down against lugs 32 of one-way stopper 26, overcoming the countering force of biasing device 30 and thereby causing one-way stopper 26 to swing counterclockwise (in the sense of the drawing figures) about pivot axle 28, as indicated by arrow 36. Any remaining merchandise 16 on the tray 14 moves or rolls to lie over one-way stopper 26. The weight of the merchandise 16 overcomes the countering force of biasing device 30 and keeps the one-way stopper 26 lying down.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 9 and 9A. If a person attempts to push the merchandise 16 back into the vending machine 10 by pushing door 18 back clockwise around pivot axle 20, an upper edge of door 18 abuts against an upper portion of one-way stopper 26 so as to arrest movement of door 18. This prevents returning the merchandise 16 back into the vending machine 10.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 10 and 10A, which illustrate the vending machine 10 with no merchandise 16 therein. Since no weight is forced on one-way stopper 26, biasing device 30 urges one-way stopper 26 to swing clockwise (in the sense of the drawing figures) about pivot axle 28, as indicated by arrow 37. The one-way stopper 26 and its lugs 32 pass unobstructed through window 24.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 11 and 11A. If someone were to try opening the door 18 by swinging the door 18 counterclockwise about pivot axle 20, as indicated by arrow 38, a portion of door 18 abuts against lugs 32 so as to arrest movement of door 18. Accordingly, the dispensing door 26 is blocked from being opened by the one-way stopper 26.
It is noted that in the prior art, vending machines are provided with a storage chamber or volume for storing and refrigerating the beverage cans and the like. This storage chamber is connected by a chute and the like to another volume for dispensing the beverage can and the like. Thus, in the prior art, two separate chambers are required—one for storing and the other for dispensing. In contrast, in the present invention, only one chamber is required that serves as both the storage chamber and the dispensing chamber. In other words, the tray 14 with dispensing door 18 and the one-way stopper 26 is a dual-purpose unit for storing and dispensing. Thus, the present invention provides significant volumetric savings as well.
The scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the features described hereinabove as well as modifications and variations thereof which would occur to a person of skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not in the prior art.
Patent Application
20070289990
