Article-dispensing apparatus

Claim 2

A vendor comprising a plurality of banks of columns, each column being adapted to hold a stack of articles to be vended, means mounting said banks generally parallel to one another in vertically fixed positions relative to one another and arranged so that each column in each bank is generally coplanar with a respective column in each other bank in a vertical plane generally at right angles to the planes of the banks thereby providing a plurality of side-by-side rows of columns with the number of rows corresponding to the number of columns in each bank, and with the number of columns in each row corresponding to the number of banks, each column being adapted for ejection of the lowermost article of the respective stack in one direction in the respective row, a carriage movable underneath the banks in said one direction through an ejection stroke, a single series of ejectors, one for each of said rows of columns, each carried by the carriage for movement from a retracted position to an article-ejecting position for ejection of the lowermost article of the stack in a column of the respective row as the carriage moves in said one direction through an ejecting stroke, the carriage, in moving through said ejecting stroke, travelling underneath the banks of columns one after another for ejection of articles from all of the columns in each row by the ejector for that row, said mounting means holding all the columns in vertically fixed operative position at the same time with the lower end of each column in position for ejection of the lowermost article of the respective stack by the respective ejector when said ejector is in its article-ejecting position, and means for effecting ejection of an article from a selected column comprising means for effecting movement of said carriage through an ejecting stroke and means for effecting movement of the ejector for the row in which said selected column is situated from its retracted position to its ejecting position prior to said ejector reaching the bank in which said selected column is situated and after it has cleared any preceding column.

Claim 3

A vendor as set forth in claim 1 wherein the banks of columns are arranged one in front of another spaCed apart a distance less than the length of articles which are stacked in the columns, and wherein the lower ends of the banks are arranged in stepped formation for ejection of articles from each bank other than the front bank underneath the next bank forward.

Claim 4

A vendor as set forth in claim 1 having a delivery station at the front, and wherein each ejector comprises means for pushing the lowermost article of a stack forward out of the respective column and on to the carriage, the article being delivered to the delivery station at the forward end of the ejecting stroke of the carriage.

Claim 5

A vendor as set forth in claim 3 having means for effecting tilting of the carriage at the forward end of its ejecting stroke for delivery of an article from the carriage to the delivery station.

Claim 6

A vendor as set forth in claim 3 wherein each column in each bank has a front ejection opening at its lower end through which the lowermost article of the stack in the column may be pushed out, each ejector comprising an arm pivoted adjacent the front of the carriage and swingable upwardly from a lowered retracted position on the carriage to a raised ejecting position and having a pusher at its rearward end for engaging the rearward end of an article when the arm is in its raised ejecting position for pushing the article forward.

Claim 7

A vendor as set forth in claim 5 having a plurality of solenoids on the carriage, one for each ejector arm, each operable to swing the respective arm from its lowered to its raised position.

Claim 8

A vendor comprising a plurality of banks of columns, each column being adapted to hold a stack of articles to be vended, means mounting said banks generally parallel to one another in vertically fixed positions relative to one another and arranged so that each column in each bank is generally coplanar with a respective column in each other bank in a vertical plane generally at right angles to the planes of the banks thereby providing a plurality of side-by-side rows of columns with the number of rows corresponding to the number of columns in each bank, and with the number of columns in each row corresponding to the number of banks, each column being adapted for ejection of the lowermost article of the respective stack in one direction in the respective row, a carriage movable underneath the banks in said one direction through an ejection stroke, a single series of ejectors, one for each of said rows of columns, each carried by the carriage for movement from a retracted position to an article-ejecting position for ejection of the lowermost article of the stack in a column of the respective row as the carriage moves in said one direction through an ejecting stroke, the carriage, in moving through said ejecting stroke, travelling underneath the banks of columns one after another for ejection of articles from all of the columns in each row by the ejector for that row, and means for effecting ejection of an article from a selected column comprising means for effecting movement of said carriage through an ejecting stroke and means for effecting movement of the ejector for the row in which said selected column is situated from its retracted position to its ejecting position prior to said ejector reaching the bank in which said selected column is situated, wherein the banks of columns are arranged one in front of another spaced apart a distance less than the length of articles which are stacked in the columns, and wherein the lower ends of the banks are arranged in stepped formation for ejection of articles from each bank other than the front bank underneath the next bank forward, and having three banks of columns, namely a rear bank, a center bank and a front bank, with the lower end of the center bank above the lower end of the rear bank and the lower end of the front bank above the lower end of the center bank.

Claim 9

A vendor comprising a plurality of banks of columns, each column being adapted to hold a stack of articles to be vended, means mounting said banks generally parallel to one another in vertically fixed positions relative to one another and arranged so that each column in each bank is generally coplanar with a respective column in each other bank in a vertical plane generally at right angles to the planes of the banks thereby providing a plurality of side-by-side rows of columns with the number of rows corresponding to the number of columns in each bank, and with the number of columns in each row corresponding to the number of banks, each column being adapted for ejection of the lowermost article of the respective stack in one direction in the respective row, a carriage movable underneath the banks in said one direction through an ejection stroke, a single series of ejectors, one for each of said rows of columns, each carried by the carriage for movement from a retracted position to an article-ejecting position for ejection of the lowermost article of the stack in a column of the respective row as the carriage moves in said one direction through an ejecting stroke, the carriage, in moving through said ejecting stroke, travelling underneath the banks of columns one after another for ejection of articles from all of the columns in each row by the ejector for that row, and means for effecting ejection of an article from a selected column comprising means for effecting movement of said carriage through an ejecting stroke and means for effecting movement of the ejector for the row in which said selected column is situated from its retracted position to its ejecting position prior to said ejector reaching the bank in which said selected column is situated, wherein the banks of columns are arranged one in front of another spaced apart a distance less than the length of articles which are stacked in the columns, and wherein the lower ends of the banks are arranged in stepped formation for ejection of articles from each bank other than the front bank underneath the next bank forward, and having three banks of columns, namely a rear bank, a center bank and a front bank, with the lower end of the center bank above the lower end of the rear bank and the lower end of the front bank above the lower end of the center bank.

Claim 10

A vendor as set forth in claim 7 wherein each column in each bank has a front ejection opening at its lower end through which thE lowermost article of the stack in the column may be pushed out, the ejection openings of the columns of the three banks lying generally in a plane inclined upwardly from the rear toward the front of the vendor, the means for effecting movement of the carriage through an ejecting stroke comprising means for moving the carriage in a plane generally parallel to the plane of said ejection openings.

Claim 11

A vendor as set forth in claim 7 having a cabinet housing the three banks of columns and the carriage, said cabinet having a front door, the front and center banks of columns being mounted for movement out of the cabinet for loading when the front door of the cabinet is opened.

Claim 12

A vendor as set forth in claim 9 wherein the front and center banks comprise an assembly mounted to be swung out of the cabinet about a vertical axis at one side of the cabinet for loading when the front door of the cabinet is opened, the columns of the front bank being structured for being loaded from the front and the columns of the center bank being structured for being loaded from the rear when so swung out, and the rear bank being mounted in fixed position at the rear of the cabinet and structured for being loaded from the front.

Claim 13

A vendor for packs of cigarettes comprising a cabinet, a rear, a center and a front bank of columns in the cabinet, each bank comprising a plurality of side-by-side columns with each column adapted to hold a stack of packs and adapted for ejection of the lowermost pack, means mounting the banks generally parallel to one another in vertically fixed positions relative to one another and arranged so that each column in each bank is generally coplanar with a respective column in each other bank in a vertical plane generally at right angles to the planes of the banks thereby providing a plurality of side-by-side rows of columns with the number of rows corresponding to the number of columns in each bank, and with the number of columns in each row corresponding to the number of banks, said cabinet having a delivery station at the front, a carriage movable underneath the banks from the rear of the cabinet toward the front through an ejecting stroke, a plurality of ejectors, one for each of said rows of columns, carried by the carriage for movement from a retracted position below the lower ends of the columns to a pack-ejecting position for ejection of the lowermost article of the stack in a column of the respective row as the carriage moves forward through an ejecting stroke, a plurality of purchaser-operable selector switches, one for each column, means for effecting ejection of a pack from a selected column on operation of the respective selector member comprising means for effecting movement of the carriage through an ejecting stroke, means for effecting movement of the ejector for the row in which said selected column is situated from its retracted position to its ejecting position prior to said ejector reaching the bank in which said selected column is situated, the pack being ejected on to the carriage and being delivered to the delivery station at the forward end of the ejecting stroke of the carriage, and means for controlling the timing of the operation of the ejectors comprising a rear, a center and a front bank switch operable by the carriage to effect raising of an ejector rearward of the rear bank for ejection of a pack from a selected column of the rear bank, rearward of the center bank for ejection of a pack from a selected column of the center bank and rearward of the front bank for ejection of a pack from a selected column of the front bank.

Claim 14

A vendor for packs of cigarettes comprising a cabinet, a rear, a center and a front bank of columns in the cabinet, each bank comprising a plurality of side-by-side columns with each column adapted to hold a stack of packs and adapted for ejection of the lowermost pack, means mounting the banks generally parallel to one another in vertically fixed positions relative to one another and arranged so that each column in each bank is generally coplanar with a respective column in each other bank in a vertical plane generally at right angles to the planes of the banks thereby providing a plurality of side-by-side rows of columns with the number of rows corresponding to the number of columns in each bank, and with the number of columns in each row corresponding to the number of banks, said cabinet having a delivery station at the front, a carriage movable underneath the banks from the rear of the cabinet toward the front through an ejecting stroke, a plurality of ejectors, one for each of said rows of columns, carried by the carriage for movement from a retracted position below the lower ends of the columns to a pack-ejecting position for ejection of the lowermost article of the stack in a column of the respective row as the carriage moves forward through an ejecting stroke, a plurality of purchaser-operable selector switches, one for each column, means for effecting ejection of a pack from a selected column on operation of the respective selector member comprising means for effecting movement of the carriage through an ejecting stroke, means for effecting movement of the ejector for the row in which said selected column is situated from its retracted position to its ejecting position prior to said ejector reaching the bank in which said selected column is situated, the pack being ejected on to the carriage and being delivered to the delivery station at the forward end of the ejecting stroke of the carriage, and means for controlling the timing of the operation of the ejectors comprising a rear, a center and a front bank switch operable by the carriage to effect raising of an ejector rearward of the rear bank for ejection of a pack from a selected column of the rear bank, rearward of the center bank for ejection of a pack from a selected column of the center bank and rearward of the front bank for ejection of a pack from a selected column of the front bank.

Claim 15

A vendor as set forth in claim 11 wherein the banks of columns are spaced apart a distance less than the length of the packs, and the lower end of the center bank is above the lower end of the rear bank, and the lower end of the front bank is above the lower end of the center bank.

Claim 16

A vendor as set forth in claim 12 wherein each column in each bank has a front ejection opening at its lower end through which the lowermost pack of the stack in the column may be pushed out, the ejection openings of the columns of the three banks lying generally in a plane inclined upwardly from the rear toward the front of the vendor, the means for effecting movement of the carriage through an ejecting stroke comprising means for moving the carriage in a plane generally parallel to the plane of said ejection openings and tilting the carriage up and forward as it reaches the forward end of its ejecting stroke for a pack on the carriage to slide off the carriage to the delivery station.

Claim 17

A vendor as set forth in claim 12 wherein each column in each bank has spaced side flanges at the bottom for supporting a stack of packs therein, and a front ejection opening and a rear ejector entry opening at its lower end, and wherein each ejector comprises an arm pivoted adjacent the front of the carriage and swingable upwardly from a lowered retracted position on the carriage to a raised ejecting position and having a pusher at its rearward end adapted to enter an ejector entry opening and push a pack forward and out the respective ejection opening when the arm is raised, said arms being located side-by-side on the carriage.

Claim 18

A vendor as set forth in claim 14 wherein the pusher on each arm comprises a crosshead on a stem at the rearward end of the arm, the crosshead being adapted to bear on the bottom flanges of a column.

Claim 19

A vendor as set forth in claim 15 wherein the center bank switch is located for actuation by the carriage to swing an arm up initially for engagement of its crosshead with the bottom of the rear bank, and the front bank switch is located for actuation by the carriage to swing an arm up initially for engagement of its crosshead with the bottom of the center bank.