Article dispensing – With discharge assistant – Reciprocating
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-30
2003-06-03
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3651)
Article dispensing
With discharge assistant
Reciprocating
C221S250000, C221S270000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06571988
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of vending machines and, more particularly, to a release mechanism used in dispensing articles from a vending machine.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Vending machines are widely used to store and dispense a large variety of beverages and other articles. In certain types of vending machines, an item to be dispensed is supported upon a sloping surface and, upon selecting the item for dispensing, a release mechanism is employed to direct the item towards a dispensing zone of the machine.
FIG. 1
of the present application is a partial view of an exemplary, known vending machine
2
used in dispensing articles
4
, such as beverage bottles. In general, vending machine
2
includes a refrigerated cabinet
8
provided with a door
12
which can be pivoted about hinges, one of which is shown at
15
. Behind door
12
are arranged a plurality of vertically spaced shelves or trays
20
for supporting articles
4
behind an overall release mechanism
25
.
Each release mechanism
25
includes at least one set of hinged plates, generally indicated in
FIGS. 2 and 3
at
30
. As shown, set
30
is composed of plates
34
-
37
which are pivotally connected by means of elongated hinge pins
45
-
50
to respective ones of a casing or frame
52
, another plate
34
-
37
or one of a pair of spaced, slidable connectors
55
,
56
. Connectors
55
and
56
are guided for movement relative to frame
52
during a vending operation through a driving force applied to an extension
65
of hinge pin
47
, while being biased to the position shown in
FIG. 2
by means of a spring
70
. In this figure, plates
34
and
35
project out of the page, while the remainder of plates
36
and
37
, along with connectors
55
and
56
, extend in a substantially common plane within which connectors
55
and
56
slide. During a dispensing operation, plates
36
and
37
are shifted into the common plane with the connectors
55
and
56
, while plates
36
and
37
project out of the page as shown in FIG.
3
.
As indicated above, the overall vending machine article dispensing arrangement described to this point is known in the art and is actually described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,905, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. However,
FIGS. 2 and 3
also illustrate an additional feature used in known vending machines of this type. That is, the desire to enhance the dispensing of articles
4
has been recognized. To this end, it has been proposed to provide a pusher or kicker element in the form of a spring
75
as part of the overall release mechanism
25
. More particularly, spring
75
has a first end portion
77
coiled about hinge pin
50
, an intermediate portion
78
wrapped about hinge pin
49
, and an angled, second end portion
80
. When the release mechanism is in the article retention position of
FIG. 2
, second end portion
80
is essentially pressed against plate
36
. As the release mechanism
25
is shifted to the article dispensing position of
FIG. 3
, spring
75
pivots about an axis defined by hinge pin
50
such that second end portion
80
moves away from frame
52
. This motion functions to aid in dispensing an article
4
, with second end portion
80
of spring
75
engaging and pushing the article
4
along a dispensing path.
Although this spring arrangement enhances the dispensing operation, there is limited contact between spring
75
and the respective article
4
. In addition, since the distance between the second end portion
80
and hinge pin
49
is fixed, the ability of the kicker arrangement to force an article
4
along a dispensing path is quite limited. Furthermore, it has been found that this prior kicker arrangement does not lend itself for use with dispensing a very wide variety of articles that range in size and shape. Therefore, for at least these reasons, there exists a need for an improved dispensing system for a vending machine. More particularly, there exists a need for a release mechanism which will enhance the dispensing of articles from a vending machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a release mechanism for use in dispensing articles from a vending machine. More particularly, the release mechanism includes a set of hinged plates which are guided for movement relative to an overall frame between article retention and article dispensing positions, wherein at least one of the hinge plates includes a main plate member and a sub-plate member, with the sub-plate member being pivotable relative to the main plate member during a dispensing operation.
In use, the sub-plate member is initially arranged upon or within the confines of the main plate member such that the main plate and sub-plate members are generally arranged in a common plane. However, when an article is selected for dispensing, the sub-plate member is caused to pivot relative to the main plate member. In general, the sub-plate member projects forward of the main plate member. In any event, this relative pivoting enables the sub-plate member to engage the article to be dispensed and functions to force the article along a dispensing path. In this sense, the sub-plate member acts as a pusher or kicker element which enhances the overall dispensing operation.
The sub-plate member is interconnected to a pusher link which actually causes the sub-plate member to pivot when the set of hinged plates are shifted during a dispensing operation. In accordance with the most preferred embodiment of the invention, the sub-plate member is formed with a slot through which a first end of the pusher link extends. A second end of the pusher link is rotatably attached to a hinge pin associated with an adjacent hinge plate. With this arrangement, when the set of hinged plates are shifted during a dispensing operation, the first end of the pusher link will initially shift within the slot. When the end of the slot is reached, the pusher link will force the sub-plate member to pivot, relative to the main plate member, into the dispensing path. In this manner, the sub-plate member abuts an article to force the article to move along the dispensing path. In general, the overall configuration and operation of the release mechanism enables the dispensing of a wide range of articles in an efficient and effective manner.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals referring to corresponding parts in the several views.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 4074829 (1978-02-01), Lee
patent: 4151930 (1979-05-01), Baker et al.
patent: 4423828 (1984-01-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 4917264 (1990-04-01), Gasiel et al.
patent: 5048720 (1991-09-01), Hoke
patent: 5497905 (1996-03-01), Vogelpohl et al.
patent: 6082578 (2000-07-01), Miyoshi et al.
patent: 6098841 (2000-08-01), Katakai
patent: 6112943 (2000-09-01), Lauer
patent: 6241121 (2001-06-01), Yasaka
patent: 5-197877 (1993-08-01), None
Diederiks & Whitelaw PLC
Maytag Corporation
Rodriguez Joseph
Walsh Donald P.
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