US3756362A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vending machine having sequential actuation of disperser
Assignee: Cornelius Co
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Filing: 1970-11-09
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Granted: 1973-09-04
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Expires: 1990-11-09
Abstract
Abstract A vending machine includes a cabinet having a series of article vending mechanisms mounted on shelves, at least one of which is hinged about a vertical axis, each article bending mechanism including a vertical guideway for retaining a stack of filled tapered cups in inverted position, and an escapement mechanism at the lower end of said guideway having two pair of retractable support ledges which alternatively are reciprocated by a solenoid, which may be under the control of a stepping relay, to engage the inverted top sides of successive filled cups.
Inventors
- 👤 J Pearce
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 11:06
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07F; G07F11/00; G07F11/02; G07F11/04; G07F11/10; G07F11/16; G07F11/24
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
189 words
An article vending mechanism comprising: a. a vertical guideway for retaining a stack of filled tapered cups in inverted position; b. a first lower pair of retractable support ledges disposed at opposite sides of the lower end of said guideway and normally extending into said guideway for supporting the stack of filled cups by engaging diametrically opposite areas of the inverted top side of the lowermost cup; c. a second pair of retractable support ledges disposed at opposite sides of said guideway at a distance above said first pair of support ledges which is less than the height of any of the cups, and normally retracted from the cups; d. four pair of pilot fingers respectively carried by said support ledges extending at all times into said guideway and dispOsed, when retracted, in guideway corners spaced from the cups, said fingers enabling the cup-engaging portions of said ledges to be entirely withdrawn from the path of the cups in said guideway while serving as pilots for the re-entry of said ledges into said guideway; and e. a solenoid-actuated linkage connected to effect alternate reciprocation of said pairs of ledges.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
189 words
An article vending mechanism comprising: a. a vertical guideway for retaining a stack of filled tapered cups in inverted position; b. a first lower pair of retractable support ledges disposed at opposite sides of the lower end of said guideway and normally extending into said guideway for supporting the stack of filled cups by engaging diametrically opposite areas of the inverted top side of the lowermost cup; c. a second pair of retractable support ledges disposed at opposite sides of said guideway at a distance above said first pair of support ledges which is less than the height of any of the cups, and normally retracted from the cups; d. four pair of pilot fingers respectively carried by said support ledges extending at all times into said guideway and dispOsed, when retracted, in guideway corners spaced from the cups, said fingers enabling the cup-engaging portions of said ledges to be entirely withdrawn from the path of the cups in said guideway while serving as pilots for the re-entry of said ledges into said guideway; and e. a solenoid-actuated linkage connected to effect alternate reciprocation of said pairs of ledges.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
An article vending mechanism according to claim 1 in which said guideway is an elongated cage having a pair of elongated strips joined together at spaced points and comprising a hinged door having an access slot along its length between said pair of strips.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
55 words
An article vending mechanism according to claim 1 in which said guideway is an elongated cage, said cage including a set of four wires extendig vertically at said guideway corners and spaced so that the cross-sectional configuration of said guideway is substantially rectangular, said pilot fingers projecting through the shorter sides of said rectangular configuration.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
An article vending mechanism according to claim 1 in which the upper portion of said guideway comprises a pivoted door enabling access to the interior of the guideway when open, and when closed providing part of the guidance for the cups.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
An article vending mechanism according to claim 4 in which said door and the portion of said guideway below said door have aligned access slots running along the length of the vending mechanism.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
131 words
An article vending mechanism comprising: a. a vertical guideway for retaining a stack of filled tapered cups in inverted position, said guideway being an elongated cage having a pair of elongated strips joined together at spaced points and comprising a hinged door having an access slot along its length between said pair of strips; b. at least one elongated wire forming part of said cage; c. a pair of straps by which said strips are joined together, one end of said straps encircling said wire by which said door is hinged; d. an escapement mechanism at the lower end of said guideway for acting upwardly on diametrically opposite areas of the inverted top sides of successive ones of said cups; and e. a solenoid actuator connected to operate said escapement mechanism.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
131 words
An article vending mechanism comprising: a. a vertical guideway for retaining a stack of filled tapered cups in inverted position, said guideway being an elongated cage having a pair of elongated strips joined together at spaced points and comprising a hinged door having an access slot along its length between said pair of strips; b. at least one elongated wire forming part of said cage; c. a pair of straps by which said strips are joined together, one end of said straps encircling said wire by which said door is hinged; d. an escapement mechanism at the lower end of said guideway for acting upwardly on diametrically opposite areas of the inverted top sides of successive ones of said cups; and e. a solenoid actuator connected to operate said escapement mechanism.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
59 words
An article vending mechanism according to claim 6 in which said cage includes other elongated strips along which the cups can tangentially engage and slide toward said escapement mechanism, and at least one additional strap by which said other strips and said wire are interconnected, said one end of one of said first-named straps resting on said additional strap.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
41 words
An article vending mechanism according to claim 7 including a set of four of said wires extending vertically at corners of said cage and disposed intermediately of said strips and spaced so that the cross-sectional configuration of said guideway is rectangular.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
An article vending mechanism according to claim 6 in which at least one of said straps remote from said one end, is a snap fastener engageable with an adjacent portion of said cage.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
118 words
An article vending machine comprising: a. a plurality of vertical guideways each capable of holding a plurality of articles; b. a plurality of escapement mechanisms for vending articles disposed respectively at the lower ends of said guideways for acting upwardly on successive ones of said articles; c. a plurality of solenoid actuators respectively connected to operate said escapement mechanisms; d. a monetary credit mechanism; and e. a stepping relay controlled by said credit mechanism and connected to energize said solenoid actuators for actuating them individually in sequence and to re-energize said solenoid actuators in said sequence; thereby vending one article from each of said guideways in said sequence before the next article is vended from a particular guide-way.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
118 words
An article vending machine comprising: a. a plurality of vertical guideways each capable of holding a plurality of articles; b. a plurality of escapement mechanisms for vending articles disposed respectively at the lower ends of said guideways for acting upwardly on successive ones of said articles; c. a plurality of solenoid actuators respectively connected to operate said escapement mechanisms; d. a monetary credit mechanism; and e. a stepping relay controlled by said credit mechanism and connected to energize said solenoid actuators for actuating them individually in sequence and to re-energize said solenoid actuators in said sequence; thereby vending one article from each of said guideways in said sequence before the next article is vended from a particular guide-way.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
65 words
An article vending machine according to claim 10 including: a. a second plurality of said vertical guideways having a sEcond plurality of said escapement mechanisms operated by a second plurality of said solenoid actuators; b. a second stepping relay connected to energize said second plurality of solenoid actuators; and c. a pair of selector switches respectively connected between said credit mechanism and said stepping relays.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-09-03 | 1977-03-05 | 1977-09-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-09-03 | 1981-03-05 | 1981-09-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-09-03 | 1985-03-05 | 1985-09-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |