Ice storing and dispensing mechanism for beverage dispensing machines and the like

Claim 1

A DISPENSER FOR CRUSHED AND CHIPPED ICE AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING AN ICE CONTAINER, A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED DISPENSING WHEEL MOUNTED THEREIN FOR BOTH ROTARY AND AXIAL MOVEMENT ON A VERTICAL AXIS, SPRING MEANS ACTING UPON SAID DISPENSING WHEEL TO URGE IT AXIALLY DOWNWARDLY, A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY EXTENDING ICE MEASURING CAVITIES FORMED IN SAID DISPENSING WHEEL, SAID CAVITIES BEING CONICALLY SHAPED, THEIR UPPER ENDS BEING RELATIVELY SMALL AND OPEN TO RECEIVE ICE FROM THE ICE CONTAINER, THEIR LOWER ENDS BEING RELATIVELY LARGE AND OPEN TO DISCHARGE SAID ICE, WEB ELEMENTS FORMED BETWEEN SAID CAVITIES, A DISCHARGE OPENING FORMED IN SAID ICE CONTAINER BELOW SAID DISPENSING WHEEL, A CAM ELEMENT MOUNTED IN SAID CONTAINER IMMEDIATELY BELOW SAID DISPENSING WHEEL, MEANS FOR INTERMITTENTLY ROTATING THE DISPENSING WHEEL TO REGISTER SAID CAVITIES SEQUENTIALLY WITH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND CAUSING INTERMITTENT ENGAGEMENT OF SAID CAM MEANS WITH SAID WEB ELEMENTS, WHEREBY THE WEB ELEMENTS ARE CAUSED TO RIDE UP UPON SAID CAM MEANS TO AXIALLY RAISE THE DISPENSING WHEEL AGAINST THE SPRING MEANS AND AGAINST THE ICE CONTENTS OF SAID CONTAINER IN ORDER TO FILL THE CAVITY WITH ICE, SAID DISPENSING WHEEL BEING THRUST DOWNWARDLY BY SAID SPRING MEANS WHEN THE WEB ELEMENT CLEAR THE CAM MEANS, SAID CAM MEANS, CAVITIES AND DISCHARGE OPENING BEING SO ORIENTED THAT ONE OF SAID CAVITIES REGISTERS WITH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AT THE TIME ONE OF SAID WEB ELEMENTS CLEARS THE CAM MEANS, AND STOP MEANS BEING PROVIDED BELOW SAID DISPENSING WHEEL TO ABRUPTLY ARREST ITS DOWNWARD MOVEMENT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SAID SPRING MEANS IN ORDER TO JAR THE DISPENSING WHEEL AND DISLODGE THE ICE CONTENTS OF SAID REGISTERING CAVITY AND THEREBY TO DROP SAID CONTENTS THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING.