Depleted stake replacement apparatus for cup dispenser

Claim 1

Apparatus for storing and dispensing paper cups comprising: a generally rectangular parallelopiped-shaped storage magazine having a planar back wall and parallel side walls extending at right angles from the lateral margins of said back wall, said back wall having a pair of parallel spaced slotted openings extending diagonally between said side walls; at least two compartmentalizing means supported within said magazine for gravitational sliding movement along said openings, toward one of said side walls; one of said compartmentalizing means being nested within the other for movement relative thereto and with the latter relative to said magazine; multiple latch means for holding each of said compartmentalizing means in predetermined positions spaced laterally of said one side wall whereat the same divide the interior of said magazine into at least three vertical compartments, each receptive of a stack of paper cups; cup drop means communicating with an opening in the bottom wall of said magazine adjacent said one side wall, means for cyclicly operating said cup drop means to dispense individual cups from the lower end of a stack of cups positioned thereover, and linkage means periodically actuated by said cup drop means for operating said latch means to initially release both said compartmentalizing means for movement relative to the magazine and thereafter said one compartmentalizing means for independent movement relative to said other thereof whereby the stacks of paper cups therein are successively positioned over said cup drop means.