Royal Vendors, Inc.

Michael D Ring

Kenneth W Oden

An adjustable mechanism for vending products includes left and right column walls defining a column divided into front and rear sections for retaining the products in front and rear corded stacks. A rear spacer provided at the back side of the column is laterally adjustable relative to the front side of the column to accommodate products of different lengths in the rear section. Front and rear product funnels are positioned respectively in the front and rear sections above the bottom end of the column, with front and rear adjustable product ramps interposed between the outlets of the front and rear product funnels, respectively, and the open bottom end of the column. The front and rear adjustable product ramps are independently pivotable about their pivot axes in response to movement of front and rear adjustment rods to change the width of the open bottom of the column at the front and back sections to accommodate products of different diameters. Front and rear rotatable cradles are positioned below the outlets of the front and rear product funnels, respectively, to releasably support the bottommost products in the front and rear corded stacks, and are independently rotatable to vend products independently from the front and rear stacks. The cradles are rotated by front and rear motors drivingly connected to the front and rear rotatable cradles, respectively. The front and rear adjustment rods each have a forward end formed into a handle which extends forwardly of the front side of the column through a cover plate covering the front side of the column. The cover plate includes a gauge thereon indicating positions of the handles corresponding to preselected product sizes. The cover plate can further include a size gauge for measuring the size of an article.

Adjustable vending mechanism

A can vending mechanism comprising a module containing three vertically-extending channels arranged front-to-back and dimensioned to vend cylindrical products, such as cans, with their longitudinal axes parallel to the front face of a vending machine to achieve greater product capacity. A sold-out switch is provided in each channel. Each sold out switch is activated when two products remain in escrow at the bottom of its respective channel. The channels are refilled without the use of diverters by dropping new products into the channels. The two products remaining in escrow at the bottom of each channel absorb the shock of the falling products.

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Kearneysville, WV, United States of America

Michael D Ring