Vending machine dispensing module tray

Claim 1

IN a vending machine for dispensing articles, a tray module for supporting a plurality of articles to be dispensed, said tray module comprising a supporting surface on which a plurality of aligned articles are positioned, conveying means mounted on said tray module, and article-engaging means on said conveying means for moving and discharging said articles from one end thereof, said conveying means including an endless flexible driven member mounted on said tray module, said article-engaging means including a plurality of projecting finger means mounted on said flexible member in longitudinally spaced relation therealong, said finger means projecting between adjacent articles for moving the articles longitudinally of the tray module when the endless flexible member is driven, said flexible member being in the form of a plastic link chain entrained over sprocket gear means at each end of the tray module, said finger means including a carrier link in said chain with a projecting finger disposed between adjacent articles without supporting the articles thereby enabling sliding engagement of the articles with the supporting surface, the forward edge of the tray module being provided with a downwardly inclined lip for guiding said plurality of articles when they are dispensed, said tray module including an electrical plug-in assembly connectible to a cooperating electrical assembly in the vending machine to operate the conveying means when said assemblies are in electrical contact, said tray module including upwardly extending wall structures at the outer edges of the supporting surface, and said conveying means including a second chain identical to the first-mentioned chain, and having plural finger means cooperating with the first-mentioned finger means to form pockets for receiving articles therein, said supporting surface being generally horizontally oriented and divided into two horizontal components, said chains being disposed below the supporting surface and including vertically elongated fingers extending through and above said supporting surface, said upwardly extending wall structures further having slots therein and said tray module further having a longitudinal groove centrally thereof so that either (A) a partition may be received in said groove and slot combination to divide the supporting surface into two separate supporting surfaces, or (B) a filler strip may be inserted in said groove and slot combination to form a continuation of said supporting surfaces and said strip being disposed between the fingers on the two chains for retaining the fingers in upright positions.