Article dispensing – Cellular magazine type – With article movement from cell to cell
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-20
2003-02-18
Noland, Kenneth W. (Department: 3653)
Article dispensing
Cellular magazine type
With article movement from cell to cell
C221S311000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06520373
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for vending tall products in a standard, snack style, glass front merchandiser.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Glass front merchandisers are vending machines designed for the automated selling of many sizes and shapes of snack, candy, and beverage products.
As illustrated in
FIGS. 1-4
, commercial merchandisers generally incorporate several horizontal trays
10
that are partitioned into columns
11
, each of which contains several of the same products offered for sale. Each column
11
is fitted with a motor driven helix
12
that extends from the rear of the tray to a front edge
18
. The products to be vended, such as bottles
14
, are retained within the helix
12
.
During the vending process, the helix
12
rotates to push the product (such as the bottle
14
) forward toward the front edge
18
of the product tray
10
. When the product reaches the front edge
18
of the tray
10
, it is pushed off of the tray
10
by the rotation of the helix
12
and drops freely into a delivery hopper (not shown) at the bottom of the vending machine. The area that the product or bottle
14
falls through is called the vend space
16
.
As a rule, the width of the vend space
16
is usually the same (or substantially the same) as the width of the tray
10
holding the products to be vended. Understandably, the vend space
16
extends through most (if not all) of the height of the machine, in front of one or more trays
10
of products. The depth
20
of the vend space
16
is measured from the front edge
18
of the tray to the rear surface of the glass
22
through which customers view the product to be vended. The glass
22
prevents customers from reaching in and taking the product without paying for it.
The depth
20
of the vend space
16
in most machines is in the 6 inch to 8 inch range. In developing the conventional glass-front merchandiser, the depth
20
was established by evaluating the height of typical products that were vended traditionally by such machines. The depth
20
was then set to a value greater that the height of the tallest bottle
14
(or tallest product) vended by the machine.
With the depth
20
of the vend space
16
established in this manner, no matter how the product fell from the tray
10
, the product or bottle
14
could not bridge between the tray
10
and the front glass
22
, because the depth
20
of the vend space
16
exceeded the height of the product. Thus, no matter how the product tumbled from the tray
10
, as long as the product or bottle
14
was pushed off the shelf by the helix
12
, it was expected that vending was guaranteed and the customer would get the product selected.
In recent years, however, products have been produced in ever increasing sizes. For example, bottles
14
have become taller. 20 oz. soda bottles are 9″ high. 24 oz. soda bottles are 10″ high. Similarly, the typical size of snack products has also increased.
If a tall product or bottle
14
is sitting vertically on the shelf and is slowly pushed forward by the helix
12
, a point will be reached where more than half of the base of the product or bottle
14
passes the front edge
18
of the tray (ee FIG.
2
). At this point, the product or bottle
14
will begin to pitch forward and the top of the product or bottle
24
will hit the glass
22
in the door (see FIGS.
3
and
4
). If it hits it in exactly the right fashion, it will bridge between the tray
10
and the glass
22
and not vend (see FIG.
4
).
The typical vending machine is designed so that, once the helix
12
has rotated a sufficient amount to vend a bottle
14
or other product, the machine retains the customer's money even if the vend has not occurred (because the product has bridged the vend space
16
). An improper vend is doubly frustrating to customers because they not only lose their money, but they can also see the bridged product that they have paid for dangling right in front of them and yet beyond their reach (see FIG.
4
).
The only way to reliably vend tall bottles
14
and other oversized products in existing machines is to increase the vend space
16
depth to
10
inches or more. However, this solution is not very attractive because it requires a very costly redesign of the vending machine.
Additionally, the greater the depth
20
of the vend space, the wider the machine must be to accommodate the larger vend space
16
. However, if it is made too wide, the vending machine cannot be easily installed in most consumer locations because it cannot pass through a standard-sized door frame.
Instead of increasing the size of the vending machine to accommodate larger products, the machine's size may be kept the same but the vend space may be increased by shortening the length of the shelves within the vending machine. This solution, however, reduces the amount of product that can be vended by the machine before it must be restocked, which increases the operational cost of the machine.
Accordingly, a need has developed for a glass-front merchandiser that can successfully vend larger products while retaining a sufficiently narrow profile to fit through standard-sized doorways.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vending apparatus that consistently prevents a tall bottle from bridging the vend space and failing to properly vend, especially in a merchandiser having a vend space depth that is less than the height of the bottle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that, while primarily designed for the vending of tall, bottled products, is equally applicable to the vending of non-bottled products such as snack items with a height that exceeds the depth of the vend space.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a modification to a vending machine that allows the vend space to be reduced in depth so that the product selling space within the machine may be maximized.
By controlling the way the bottle (or other tall product) drops from the tray, undesirable bridging can be prevented. To do this, the bottle (or product) should be controlled so that it does not tip or pitch forward during the vending operation. Preferably, the top of the product is retained on the tray until the bottom of the product is pushed completely clear of the tray. At this point, the product drops vertically down through the vend space and does not bridge.
Controlling products so that they drop in this fashion permits the vending of oversized products without having to incur the significant expense of designing a new machine with a larger vend space.
In addition, when the vending of products is controlled in the manner taught by the present invention, a machine with a smaller overall front to back depth may be designed. This permits the construction of a machine that will pass easily through narrow spaces such as doors while including a maximum amount of self space for the largest volume of products.
The present invention accomplishes controlled vending of products by mounting a retaining device on the merchandiser in such a manner that the top of the product being vended hits the retaining device and is prevented from moving or pitching forward during the vending process.
The present invention is a snack style, clear front merchandiser having at least one product column having a front opening leading into a vend space. At least one product mover is adapted to push a product through the front opening and into the vend space. At least one retaining device is mounted to the merchandiser near the front opening and positioned in a manner such that a top of the product being vended hits the retaining device, thereby preventing the top of the product from moving or pitching forward during a vending process. Consequently, the vended product falls freely into the delivery hopper without bridging the vend space.
A single retaining device may be used for several columns in a single tray. Alternatively, individual retaining devices may
Neely D. Joseph
Pollock Richard A.
Automated Merchandising Systems Inc.
Noland Kenneth W.
The Law Offices of Timothy J. Klima
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