Serpentine magazine for can venders

Claim 1

For use in an automatic coin controlled machine for vending cylindrical articles, a magazine for holding a plurality of generally cylindrical articles, comprising: a pair of laterally spaced wall members having abuttable means projecting integrally from opposing faces thereof and disposed at selected spaced locations thereon, means interconnecting said wall members with opposing said abuttable means engaging one; each of said wall members having a plurality of oppositely directed, vertically and laterally spaced, curvilinear flight sections, each merging at its lower end with a horizontal flight section extending toward an opposing said curvilinear flight section; said flight sections being formed integrally with and projecting outwardly from a said wall member so that corresponding flight sections on opposed faces of said pair of wall members are in abutting alignment to formulate a pair of laterally spaced, vertical serpentine columns therebetween; each column having two laterally spaced serpentine tracks for movement of articles therealong; said pair of serpentine columns being substantially alike and arranged in nonoverlapping, front-to-back spaced relationship within their associated magazine; each said column having an open loading end at the upper end thereof, with the rearmost of the columns having its loading end disposed above the loading end of the foremost of said columns; an open discharge end at the lower end of each said column, with the discharge end of the foremost of said columns releasing articles toward the front of the machine and the discharge end of the rearmost of said columns releasing articles toward the rear of said machine; and a periodically operable vend mechanism mounted opposite the lower discharge end of each of said columns and operable to release articles one-by-one therefrom.