Royal Vendors, Inc.

Glenn Decker Selfridge

Kenneth W Oden

Clayton Herzog

A frozen product, upright-style vending machine having a pick and place mechanism moveable in three dimensions (X, Y, Z) with a fourth, rotational, degree of freedom (W) effected using the Z axis drive. The mechanism moves along tracks in the X-Y directions and is permitted full range of motion by an extension hose. Frozen products are arranged in a container within the vending machine freezer, the container acting as a virtual cold-wall freezer trapping cold air. The pick and place mechanism positions a vacuum pick-up head over the appropriate product along the X-Y tracks in response to a customer selection. The vacuum pick-up head is attached to a vacuum hose which is wound on a hose reel. The vacuum hose is unwound to lower the vacuum pick-up head along the Z axis to the selected product and, when suction has been established against a selected product in the virtual cold-wall freezer, the vacuum hose is rewound. By over-driving the Z-axis drive motor, the pick-up head is rotated to a horizontal position by hose tension, and the product is dispensed through a delivery door positioned relatively high on the vending machine such that the frozen products are not dropped a significant distance and broken during delivery.

Frozen product vending machine

The present invention is direct to a system and method for electronically controlling the refrigeration and/or heating of the product storage compartment in a vending machine. The system includes a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature in the product storage compartment, and a door sensor for sensing whether the door is open or closed. The control method includes the steps of activating a defrost mode, which is a timed period with no heating or cooling activity, when the door to the vending apparatus is open. The defrost mode is also activated whenever the cooling element has been running continuously for several hours. Further, the control method includes a step of cycling the cooling element &ldquo;on&rdquo; whenever a predetermined high temperature is reached. When the cooling element is &ldquo;off&rdquo; for more than 6 hours and the predetermined high temperature has not been reached, the heater is turned &ldquo;on&rdquo; to prevent the products in the vending machine from freezing.

Growing community of inventors

Martinsburg, WV, United States of America

Glenn Decker Selfridge