Dispensing device

Claim 1

IN AN ARTICLE DISPENSING MACHINE, A DISPENSING UNIT COMPRISING A COMPARTMENT OPEN AT THE BOTTOM AND HAVING SIDE, FRONT AND BACK WALLS WHEREIN THE FRONT AND BACK WALLS ARE SPACED ONE FROM THE OTHER LENGTHWISE OF THE COMPARTMENT BY AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN THE LENGTH OF THE ARTICLES TO BE DISPENSED AND THE SIDE WALLS ARE SPACED CROSSWISE OF THE COMPARTMENT BY AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF ONE BUT LESS THAN TWICE THE WIDTH OF THE ARTICLES TO BE DISPENSED, A PAIR OF ABUTMENTS, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID ABUTMENTS FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A BLOCKING POSITION IN WHICH THE ABUTMENTS ARE SPACED ONE FROM THE OTHER AND FROM THE SIDE WALLS OF THE COMPARTMENT BY AN AMOUNT LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE ARTICLES TO BE DISPENSED AND AN UNBLOCKING POSITION IN WHICH THE ABUTMENTS ARE SPACED FROM THE ORIGINALLY ADJACENT SIDE WALLS OF THE COMPARTMENT BY AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF AN ARTICLE TO BE DISPENSED TO ENABLE AN ARTICLE TO PASS DOWNWARDLY THEREBETWEEN, AND SINGLE MEANS FOR CONTROLLING MOVEMENT OF THE ABUTMENTS ALTERNATELY TO DISPLACE ONE OF THE ABUTMENTS OF THE PAIR FROM BLOCKING TO UNBLOCKING POSITION AND BACK TO ITS INITIAL POSITION WHILE THE OTHER REMAINS IN BLOCKING POSITION, SAID MEANS FOR CONTROLLING MOVEMENT OF THE ABUTMENTS BETWEEN BLOCKING AND UNBLOCKING POSITIONS INCLUDING A DISC CAM MOUNTED FOR ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS MIDWAY BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS OF THE COMPARTMENT AND HAVING A RECESSED PORTION EXTENDING THROUGH AN ANGLE OF LESS THAN 180* OF THE DISC CAM, A PIVOTAL MEMBER AFFIXED TO EACH OF SAID ABUTMENTS AND HAVING A PORTION ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE PERIPHERY OF SAID CAM, AND MEANS FOR ROTATING THE DISC CAM WHEREBY THE ABUTMENTS ARE MAINTAINED IN BLOCKING POSITION WHEN SAID PORTION IS IN OPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PERIPHERY OF THE DISC CAM AND WHEREBY THE ABUTMENTS CAN BE DISPLACED TO UNBLOCKING POSITION WHEN SAID PORTION IS IN OPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE RECESSED PORTION OF THE DISC CAM.