Bottle dispensing and control system

Claim 1

In a control system for packaged goods, a housing and bottle dispensing apparatus in said housing comprising a drum mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis in said housing, means defining a plurality of angularly-spaced, outwardly-opening elongate compartments disposed around the periphery of said drum, a releasable gate mounted in each compartment intermediate its length, the length of each compartment being such that a bottle lying on its side can be stored therein inwardly of said gate and one can be stored therein outwardly of said gate, means urging each gate to a position in its compartment extending into the path of movement of a bottle moving outwardly of the compartment, said means being yieldable to permit a bottle to be moved inwardly into the compartment during a loading operation, means for directing bottles into said compartments to form a circular array of bottles inwardly of said gates and one outwardly of said gates, means defining a discharge passage in said housing adjacent the periphery of said drum, each compartment being inclined in a direction to cause a bottle to move out of the compartment when the compartment becomes aligned during rotation of said drum with said discharge passage, means for rotating said drum to cause the successive discharge of the bottles in the outer sections of said compartments, and means effective during continued rotation of said drum to release the gate of each compartment as it moves to an aligned position with said discharge passage to permit the outward movement of the bottle in the inner section of the compartment.