Article dispensing – Plural sources – stacks or compartments – With non-dispensing compartment
Patent
1986-12-08
1988-11-15
Skaggs, H. Grant
Article dispensing
Plural sources, stacks or compartments
With non-dispensing compartment
221150HC, 99357, G07F 1100
Patent
active
047842920
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to food-storage, heating and dispensing apparatus which may be used in a vending machine.
Apparatus for vending heated-on-demand pre-cooked food has been proposed wherein upon insertion of a sum of money containers of food are automatically conveyed from a storage chamber into a heating chamber and then are delivered to a dispensing outlet. The storage chamber may be refrigerated and the heating chamber may be a microwave oven.
In one known type of such apparatus, e.g. that disclosed in French Patent Specification No. 2458851, a microwave oven is disposed below a food storage chamber. Upon activation of the machine a container slides down an inclined plane into the oven and, after heating, slides down a further inclined plane to the dispensing outlet.
A disadvantage of such apparatus is that a considerable proportion of the height of the apparatus above the dispensing outlet is occupied by the said inclined planes thus reducing the space available for the storage chamber.
In another known type of apparatus, e.g. that disclosed in British Patent Specification No. 2134503, a microwave oven is disposed to the side of a storage chamber, the selected container being moved laterally from the storage chamber to the oven by a conveyor and then laterally from the oven to the dispensing location by a further conveyor.
This configuration allows a greater proportion of the machine height above the dispensing outlet to be used for the storage chamber, however such a machine must be considerably wider than a machine wherein the oven is disposed below the storage chamber
The object of the present invention is to provide food-storage, heating and dispensing apparatus for use in a vending machine which is more compact than the apparatus of the prior art.
According to the invention we provide food-storage, heating and dispensing apparatus comprising: aperture; storage chamber to said oven through said apertures; through the oven aperture; said storage chamber aperture and said oven aperture and having in addition one or more positions which allow said articles to be delivered from said storage chamber to the oven and/or which allow said articles to be delivered from the oven.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of the apparatus comprising a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing certain movable elements of the apparatus disposed in different positions to those shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a section front view on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2 broken away to illustrate details of its construction;
FIG. 5 is a schematic side elevational view of a second embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 showing a movable element in a different position.
The apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 comprises a metal cabinet shown generally as 10 having a shelf 11 projecting from its front face 12 and an upwardly slidable hatch 13 mounted above the shelf.
The cabinet 10 contains an insulated storage chamber 14; a microwave oven shown generally as 15; a movable closure element 16; a movable delivery flap 17; a compressor 18; and coin freed control means 19 of known type.
The storage chamber 14 which is cooled by refrigerator 20 is mounted above the oven 15 and holds ten stacks 22 of flanged food containers 23 arranged in two ranks 24 and 25 of five stacks. The stacks 22 are supported above apertures 26 in the floor 27 of the storage chamber 14 by article release means 28 of any suitable type which is selectively operable to release the lowermost container 23a of any selected stack 22.
The oven 15 comprises a housing 29 having a front wall 30; a back wall 31; an upper wall 32 and a lower wall 33.
Two magnetrons 34 are mounted below the lower wall 33. The housing has an aperture 36 which extends from
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by Whatson, administrator Julie K.
by Wright, administrator Sally-Anne
Johndrow John P.
Taylor Paul R.
Wigg Martin E.
Ammeen Edward S.
Sankey Vending Limited
Skaggs H. Grant
LandOfFree
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