Mechanism for feeding ice cream cones or the like

Claim 1

IN A MECHANISM FOR FEEDING ICE CREAM CONES ONE AT A TIME FROM THE BOTTOM OF A STACK OF CONES, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A MAGAZINE FOR RECEIVING A STACK OF ICE CREAM CONES IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION, A PAIR OF UPPER HOLDING ARMS, UPPER PIVOT MEANS SUPPORTING SAID UPPER HOLDING ARMS FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE STACK BELOW THE MAGAZINE, SAID UPPER HOLDING ARMS HAVING PADDED MEMBERS THEREON ENGAGEABLE WITH THE SECOND TO THE LOWERMOST CONE IN THE STACK ADJACENT BUT BELOW THE LIP OF SAID CONE TO SUPPORT THE OVERLYING STACK AGAINST DOWNWARD MOVEMENT, A PAIR OF LOWER SUPPORTING ARMS, LOWER PIVOT MEANS SUPPORTING SAID LOWER SUPPORTING ARMS FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE LOWERMOST CONE IN THE STACK AT AN INTERMEDIATE POINT BETWEEN THE LIP OF THE LOWERMOST CONE AND THE LOWER END THEREOF, SAID LOWER PIVOT MEANS SUPPORTING SAID LOWER SUPPORTING ARMS FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT ABOUT PARALLEL SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AXES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE STACK, SAID LOWER SUPPORTING ARMS HAVING SUPPORTING MEMBERS THEREON ENGAGEABLE WITH THE LOWERMOST CONE AT DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE POINTS ALONG A DIAMETER EXTENDING GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID AXES, A PAIR OF TOOTHED JAWS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE LOWERMOST CONE IN THE STACK AT DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE POINTS ALONG A DIAMETER GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID AXES, SAID TOOTHED JAWS BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH THE LOWERMOST CONE AT POINTS SPACED DOWNWARDLY FROM THE LIP THEREOF BUT SPACED UPWARDLY FROM THE POINTS OF ENGAGEMENT OF SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS ON THE LOWER SUPPORTING ARMS, SAID TOOTHED JAWS BEING MOUNTED ON THE OUTER ENDS OF SPRING MEMBERS WITH THEIR INNER ENDS MOUNTED ON SAID LOWER SUPPORTING ARMS FOR OUTWARD AND DOWNWARD SWINGING MOVEMENT THEREWITH, SAID SPRING MEMBERS RESILIENTLY BIASING SAID TOOTHED JAWS AGAINST THE LOWERMOST CONE BUT BEING FLEXIBLE TO PROVIDE FOR MOVEMENT OF SAID JAWS AWAY FROM THE CONE, MEANS FOR EFFECTING OUTWARD SWINGING MOVEMENT OF SAID LOWER SUPPORTING ARMS TO MOVE SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS THEREON AWAY FROM THE LOWERMOST CONE WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY IMPARTING DOWNWARD AND OUTWARD SWIPING MOVEMENT TO SAID JAWS WITH RESPECT TO THE LOWERMOST CONE, SAID JAWS THEREBY BEING EFFECTIVE TO TWIST THE LOWERMOST CONE ABOUT ITS OWN AXIS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY DISPLACING THE LOWERMOST CONE DOWNWARDLY AWAY FROM THE STACK, THE OVERLYING STACK MEANWHILE BEING HELD BY SAID PADDED MEMBERS, SAID UPPER HOLDING ARMS HAVING CAMS THEREON ENGAGEABLE BY SAID SPRING MEMBERS FOR MOVING SAID JAWS AWAY FROM THE LOWERMOST CONE AS SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS ARE SWUNG OUTWARDLY SO THAT THE LOWERMOST CONE WILL BE FREE TO FALL CLEAR OF SAID JAWS, MEANS FOR SWINGING THE LOWER SUPPORTING ARMS INWARDLY TO RETURN SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS THEREON TO THEIR ORIGINAL POSITIONS, MEANS FOR SWINGING SAID UPPER HOLDING ARMS OUTWARDLY FOR MOVING SAID PADDED MEMBERS AWAY FROM THE STACK SO AS TO ALLOW THE STACK TO DROP DOWNWARDLY TO BRING THE LOWERMOST CONE AGAINST SAID LOWER SUPPORTING MEMBERS AND ALSO AGAINST SAID JAWS, AND MEANS FOR SWINGING THE UPPER HOLDING ARMS INWARDLY TO RETURN SAID PADDED MEMBERS TO THEIR ORIGINAL POSITIONS TO SUPPORT THE STACK.