The Vendo Company

Herman R Craven

Spencer L Childers

Leonard Bieri, Jr

A replaceable sign face used in vending machines for operating instructions, advertising purposes and the like. A front panel having optically transparent regions and a curved surface and constructed from a sturdy, solid material serves as a permanent protective cover to deter attempts at tampering and breaking in for food or money. A replaceable inner panel bearing advertising media is disposed directly behind the front panel. The inner panel is formed from a thin, resilient and inexpensive material which is configured for frequent replacement with minimum effort. The transparent front panel and replaceable inner panel bearing instructional and advertising media (hereinafter sometimes referred to as visual displays) are securely held within retainers disposed at either end of the front face of the vending machine.

Replaceable sign face

A novel control storing and dispensing apparatus for a vending machine, or the like is provided, the apparatus being particularly adapted for storing and dispensing cylindrical products of various types and sizes in single and multiple depth stack fashion. The dispensing mechanism for each section includes at least one motor-driven auger mounted in an almost horizontal position in relation to cylindrical products rolling down a shallow slope to control storing, feeding and dispensing of said cylindrical products from the bottom of a stack for each selection, as the mechanism is cycled. The apparatus can also be used to dispense cylindrical products of a relatively wide range of diameters by using spacers or movable ramps to position products properly to fit into the auger track. The apparatus also can dispense a product longer than conventional cans, such as certain bottled beverages, by using several augers. By coupling a second auger to a first powered auger and timing the dispense mechanism of two adjacent columns, products from the two columns can be dispensed simultaneously or alternately.

Control dispensing apparatus for vending machines

A package dispensing mechanism for a vending machine, the mechanism being particularly adapted for dispensing cylindrical packages in a single column, of a single or a multiple depth stack. The mechanism has a cylindrical bucket open at one side and mounted for oscillation substantially about its axis, the bucket having one axially extending edge which simultaneously releases all of the packages in the lowermost tier of such a stack into the bucket and another such edge which sequentially vends the packages so received, and the mechanism has a pivoting gate disposable to support the next tier above such lowermost tier so that such one edge does not engage the such next tier, avoiding lifting of the entire stack even though the bucket and package have substantially different diameters, minimizing the power required to drive the bucket, and avoiding damage to such next tier.

Package dispensing mechanism for vending machine

Apparatus is provided for increasing the product storage capacity of selective product dispensing machines, which must handle a plurality of generally cylindrical product types with one or more product types being accommodated in significantly greater quantity than others, while retaining the operational reliability of staggered stack releasing for all product types. The apparatus utilizes a lower zone of the total product storage space available within a cabinet of any given size to provide staggered stack chambers of appropriately limited height for a maximum number of product types to be selectively handled, and utilizes the remaining upper zone of the available storage space to accommodate a maximum number of stored products of one or more preferred product types to be made available in greater quantity than others, with the preferred type products stored on superimposed inclined shelves and fed by gravity to the upper end of corresponding staggered stack compartments. A most preferred product is stored in large quantity within the upper zone, both upon a plurality of inclined shelves in each of a pair of sets thereof and within a corresponding pair of vertical column chutes respectively arranged to receive products from the shelves of the corresponding shelf set and to deliver such products to a corresponding side of the upper end of the associated staggered stack chamber.

Growing community of inventors

Fresno, CA, United States of America

Herman R Craven