US1763352A - Coin-controlled vending machine - Google Patents

Description

June 10, 1930. Helms 1,763,352

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: I

ATTORNEY H. GILES 1,763,352 COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed July 14, 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Imm N 34 June 10, 1930.

INVENTOR flail 5y 5/1519.

Ahab/. 10,

ATTORNEY June 10, 1930. H. GILES 1,763,352

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE ATTORNEY.

June 10, 1930. H. GILES COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed Jul 14. 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 3/ INVENTORL' flaw 5r 5 46 l ATIORNEY.

June 10, 1930. H Gus 1,763,352

coIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed July 14, I925 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 AWl/Ey 6945s.

5/ ATTORNEY,

June 10, 1930. H. GILES 1,763,352

, INVEN'fOR. /70 3/ 1 flQFI EY 6 /156: BY

3 W flaw/6 m ATTORNEY.

June 10, 1930. H. GILES COIN CONTROLLEDVENDING MACHINE 8 SheetS -Sheet Filed July 14. 1925' June 1 0, 1930 O H, ILES 1,763,352

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed July 14 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 III/IA 11111111111111,

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

' tures of r ed m. 19

HARVEY .eILEs;

or Bnooxmm, nEw roan, Assmnon 'ro mamas wean, me, or

new YORK, n. Y., A CORPORATION or new roan oom-con'rnonmn vnn'nme mnonmn Application -fl1e'd' July 14,

. I The invention relates to'an improvement in vending machines of the type which de livers an article, such asa piece'of gum, a small carton of confection; or a like article, 5 upon the insertion of a genuinecoin of the proper denomination in the machine and the manipulation of the usual handle which actuates the article delivering means. The general object of the'inventionis to reorganize and simplify the operating parts of a vending machine of the above type, in order to produce a more eflicient machine having increased holding capacity with fewer operating Bart To this end one of the feat e invention is the provision of means whereby a single reciprocable bar or plunger is employed for delivering the articles from-a plurality of vertically arranged hoppers 'or compartments." This. plunger .bar is arranged to operate in substantially thevertic-al plane occ'uplied by the series of columns [of articles and is provided with as many articles delivering fingers as there are hoppers or columns of articles, each finger corresponding to a hopper and arranged to remove and-deliver the articles from its hope i" per. The arrangement'is' such that each column of articles is completely exhausted, beginning with the rear column, before the articles are deliveredfrom the preceding columns, except that the original lowermost article in each preceding column is delivered before the lowermost article in the last column is delivered. A feature of the invention incidental to the foregoing feature is the provision of means whereby the delivery of the articles from the succeeding hoppers is not interfered with by the articles in the preceding ho per orhoppers. nother feature of the invention is to so construct and arrange the coin slot that after the coin has been effectively used by the operating parts of the article delivering mechanism of the vending machine, it is caused 43 to fall in a plane at right angles to the plane .in which it enters the machine. By changing the plane in which the coin falls, a coin box of increased capacity may be employed and means arranged for gradually and progres- F 'sively filling the coin box so that the coins.

appended claims.

1925. Serial No. 48,489. 1

therein will not interfere with the operation of the machine so long as there remain any undelivered articles in the'machine. .Another feature of the invention is the rovision of novel means for detecting was ers or slugs with a hole in their centers and preventing them fromentering the machine.

-A further feature of the invention is the provision of a stop finger located inthe last column of goods to be delivered, which stop finger comes into operation when the last article has been delivered to prevent the reciprocation-of the plunger bar and the insertion of further coins in the machine. Still another feature of the invention is the provision of novel means for securing the operating parts of the machine in the cabinet. Other featuresof the invention will appear as the description proceeds, the advantages of .7

which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention itself consists in the improved vending machine hereinafter 'described and particularly pointed out in the Inthe accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred 'form of the invention:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a stand adapted to rotatablysupport three of the improved vending machines, a part of the figure being shown in section taken on theline 1-1 of Fig. 2; i r v Fig. 2 is a top plan of the parts shown in Fig; 1, with a portion of the figure shown in sectlon;

Fig. 3 is a front vertical section taken along the line 33 of Fig. 12,1ooking in the direc- I tiono'f the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the operating parts of the vending machine, with the cabi net and coin box shown in section;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken along theline 55 of Fig.'12;'; v Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 8-;

Fig. 7 is afront vertical section of the-right hand side "of the vending machine, taken along the line-7%? of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 7, showing the positions of the parts of the. operating mechanism after a coin has been deposited in I the machine and the handledeprcs sed a part of the way; y

. Fig. 9 is a section taken along theline 99 of Fig. 10, the viewbeing substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 8, with the parts in the positions they have at the, completion of the downward stroke of the handle; Fig. 10 is a section taken along the line 1010 of Fig. 9; I

Fig. 11 is a section taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows; o j

Fig. 12 is a section taken alongthe lines 12-12 of Figs. 4 and 7 Fig. 13 is a section taken alongthe line 13'13 of Fig. 4; p Fig. 14 is a section taken along the line 14'14 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 15 is a section 15-15 of Fig. 7; v

F g. 16 is a side elevation of thedevice for detecting and holding awasher;

Fig. 17 is an end elevation of shown in Fig. 16; Fig. 18 is a front elevation, partly in section,. of the bottom part of the machine,

taken along the line the parts showing particularly the positions of the parts in delivering the last article from the machine;

Fig. 19 is a section taken along the line 19-19 of Fig. 20, the figure being the left hand end of the parts shown in Fig. 18, and

.Fig. 20 is a section taken along the. line 20-20 of Fig. 19. I

The improved vending machine-as illussecured to'the inner side of the above theplatform 36 is protected 30 fromtheoutside of the ca inet. The up.-

per end of the cabinet is closed by the top(34,

to whichthe door is fastened by the loc upper partof thedoor 29. In thelower part 0charge orifice 35 through which the articles cured to thewall 26. The opening) or orifice y a guard 37 also secured'to thewall 26. A pivotally gre'ss into the machine beyond theopening 35. Therear end wall 27 isprovided with aslot 17 through which, projects thehandle 38 of the-mechanism by which an' article is delivered. v Each hopper consists. of afront end wall 40, arear'end wall 41, aside wall'42 and aside wall 43. The upright hopper or compartment thus constituted is open at itsupthe front 7end wall 26 is located an opening or dis- $0 mounted spring-pressedflap 25 prevents inas h per end and also atits lower end, and in addition theside wall 43 is provided throughout its middle section wlth an opening 44;

which afiords ready access to the interior of the hopper and permits the articles to be easily placed in or removed from the hopper. The upper ends of theside walls 42 of the hoppersare secured to aplate 45 by which they. are held together. Theleft hand 46 of theplate 45 pro ects laterally beyondthe uptrated in the accompanying. drawings com-P end pp 21 to engage with 1 prises a plurality of upright hoppers ara stud 47 P j i g inwardly into the ranged in seri'eso'ne behind another for connet from the frent end Wall h taining the articles to'be ve'nded'and a coin rengemeht Permlts the attendant to ml? the controlled mechanism by the manipulation may be. either packets or cartonsof gum or randy,

or they may be articles of adifierent nature, but substantially of the same shape. Thearticles 24 asshown are of rectangular shape, and the operating mechanismof-the vending machine is arranged to deliver the articles endwise from the machine. For this purpose the articles are arranged in the upright hoppers or compartments with their longitudinal axes coincident with the. direction in which they are delivered from the machine.

The series of hoppers or compartments and the operating mechanism-for delivering the articles are enclosed in a rectangular cabinet having afront end wall 26, arear end wall 27, aside wall 28 and .adoor 29 pivoted by means of therod 30 to the bottom 31 of the cabinet. The right hand end of the rod with its upwardly projectingsides 51 and 52 Located under thelower open ends of the hoppers and extending parallelly with the series of hoppers is aplate 49 adapted to support the colunms of articles in the hoppers and along which the articles are adapted to be advanced when they are delivered from the machine. The plate 49' is spaced from the open lower ends 50 of the hoppersa distance egual-to substantially the thickness of one an one-half articles and occupies the same plane as thedelivering'platform 36, so that when a coin has been deposited in the machine and thehandle 38 has been manipu-v lated the article nearest theopening 35 is pushed into position on theplatform 36 to be removed'by the purchaser. Theplate 49 is provided withupright side walls 51 and. 52. which embracethe. lower v.ends ofwtheside walls 42 and 43 of the hoppers. Theplate 49 if thus constitutes a trough intowhich the hop-' of operation of delivering the articles from pers discharge the articles they contain.

a Projecting laterally from theside wall 51of'the plate 49 are twohooks 53 adapted to engage a p1ate54 which supports both the hoppers and the operating mechanism ofthe vending machine. This plate. 54 is clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which it is seen that it consists of alower part 55 extending.

entirely across the cabinet, an upright middle arm'56 having an offsetlateral arm 57, and-anupright end arm 58. These various parts of theplate 54 are provided with headed Istuds 59 adapted to project through theholes 60 in theside wall 28 of the cabinet. The

holes 60 are provided withneck portions 61 adapted to receive and hold thestuds 59..

The arrangement is such that when theheads 62 of thestuds 59 are inserted through theholes 60 the plate descends until thestuds 59 rest in the bottoms of theneckportions 61. Theplate 54 is then held against accidental displacement by means of aspring pressedv latch 64 pivotally mounted in thewall 28 of the cabinet. Thelatch 64 is adapted to engage with the stud in the end of the offsetarm 57ofthe plate 54. Theplate 54 is held spaced from thewall 28 of the cabinet by means of thewashers 65, in order that the three armbell crank lever 66- of the operating 'mechanism pivoted on the upper end of thearm 56 may be located and function between theplate 54 and thewall 28 of the cabinet.

"When the articles are placedas columns in the upright hoppers, the lowermost aryticle in each column restson {theplate 49.

' The article delivery mechanismfof the pres-- ent invention is so constructedand arranged that only the lowermost articles of the columns of articles inhoppers 21 and 22 are deliveredfrom the machine before the articles; are entirely. delivered from;hopper 23. If, in Fig. 3, it is assumedthat thearticle 67 was the lowermost article in thehopper 21, that thearticle 68 was the lowermost article in the.hopper 22 and that thearticle 69 was the lowermost article in thehopper 23, it is clear thatarticles 67 and 68 will be delivered beforearticle 69; Thereafter, however, all the articles in hopper 23' will be delivered from the machine before any of thejremaining articles inhoppers 21 and 22 are delivered, the articles fromhopper 23 passing under the lowermost articles inhoppers 21 and 22. Means are provided to prevent the lowermost articles inhoppers 21 and 22 from interfering with the travel of the articles along theplate 29. a

After all'the articles originally contained inhopper 23 have been delivered, then the articles'contained inhopper 22 are delivered in the same manner, namely, under the arti'cles contained inhopper 21; and lastly,the

articles contained inhopper 21 are delivered.

; It will be understood that this is the mode articles are inserted in the hoppers, it will be understood of course that these articles must Qbe delivered before, the articles in the last hopper are delivered. After the articles originally resting on theplate 49 have been delivered, the hoppers are exhausted in turn, beginning with the rearmost hopper, so that the top article in thefirst hopper, for example,article 70 inhopper 21, is the last article to be delivered from the machine.

The mechanism by'which this mode of operation is accomplished comprises a series ofpusher fingers 72, 7 3 and 74, there being as many pusher fingers as there are hoppers. Each pusherfinger corresponds to a hopper and is adapted to deliver the articles in that hopper from the machine, except that the articles originally resting on theplate 49 are delivered by the rearmost finger, namely, thefinger 74. The pusher. fingers are pivotally mounted on aplunger bar 77, which is in the form of an inverted U and comprises theside 1walls 76 and 81 and crosspieces 83.vThe plungerbar 77 is provided with twoscrews 7 8 (Fig. 5) which project through aslot 79 cut longitudinally in thelower portion 55 of theplate 54. Thescrews 78 are loosely received in theslot 79 sothat the plunger bar may reciprocate freely, and thescrews 78 are provided with enlarged heads so that the plunger bar may besupportediin position and operate without cramping. Theside wall 81 of the plunger bar is turned inwardly at its lower end to rest on theinturned flange 82 of theplate 54. This arrangement aids in supporting the plunger bar and facilitating its operation. a

- lhe upper article-engagingend 84 of each pusher finger is arranged to project through and to reciprocatein alongitudinal slot 85 in theplate 49. The lower ends of the plunger fingers are weighted so that the fingers tend to turn in a clockwise direction. I The stops 86 projecting laterally from the bottom of theside 76 of theplunger bar 77 determine the operative positions of the article-engaging ends ofthe fingers. The arrangement is such that when theplunger bar 77 is in retracted position at the right hand side of the cabinet only theplunger-finger corresponding to the last column of articles is in effective article delivering position, the preced ing fingers being held depressed and inoperative by the articles on theplate 49, as shown 74 will assume an effective delivering position behind the lowermost article 89in the hopper 23'. It will thus be understood thatbar 77 to cause the pusher fingers todeliver c as each column ofarticles becomes exhausted the pusher finger corresponding to that column becomes inoperative, whereas thenext preceding finger comes into play. This is the i of columns t articles to be delivered.

In ,order to prevent articles in the hoppers preceding the hopper from which the arti-v mode of operation regardless of thenumber cles are bcingdelivered from interfering with the travel of articles along the plate-49, each hopper precedin the last one is provided with a hinged deflector plate which may con veniently be attached to the lower edge of the front end wall of the succeeding hop per. Thus the deflector plate 91 for thehopper 42 is attached to the lower "edge of the.

front end wall 40 of the hopper 23' and the deflector plate 92 for thehopper 21 is attached to the lower edge of the .front end wall 40 of thehopper 22. The deflector plate 92- of thehopper 21, as shown in Fig. 3, clearly illustrates the mode of operation of these plates. and how they prevent the articles in the preceding hoppers from interfering with the travel of the articlesalong theplate 49.

Each deflector plate is recessed in its'bottom edge to accommodate and permit the free passage of the article-engagingends 84 of the pusher fingers The mechanism for-actuating the plunger an article from the machine upon the insertion of a coin therein and the manipulation of thehandle 38, comprises the threearm lever 66 and the means for operating it. The

,lowerendof\the'arm 94 of thelever 66 is slotted to loosely receive ascrew 95 which passes throughthe'slot 79 and is fixed in the wall 8-1 of theplunger bar 77. Thelateral arm 97 of thelever 66 is provided at its free end with thepin 98. which projects through and is'loosely engaged by aslot 99 in a vertiy cally reciprocatableplate 100 from which the handle part38 projects through thevertical slot 17 in therear end wall 27 of the cabinet. Theplate 100 is arranged to reciprocate vertically on the uright part 58 of theplate 54. 2

V The outline o theplate 100 is clearly indicated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. It is held in. operative position on thepart 58 by the flat headedscrews 101 and 102 which project loosely through the vertically arrangedslots 103 and 104 respectively. Theplate 100 is normally retracted'upwardly to its inoperative position by means of a contraction limit of its downward movement and there-' by cause thearm 94 of thelever 66 to move fireaasa the plunger bar 77'and the pusher fi'nfirs'w from their right hand retracted position to the left hand (as shown inFig. 3), thereb deliverin an article. As thelever 66 osci lates dunng the manipulation ofthe handle 38 thepin 98 travels in the arcuate slot.-'110 in theupright part 58 of theplate 54.

The coin'slot by which a coinis so positioned that the operating mechanism may be'eflective in delivering an article from the machine comprises an upper section generally indicated at 111 (Fig. 4) and a lower section generally indicated at 112. The upper part orsection 111 of the coin slot! is arranged'transve'rsely of the cabinet and the lower part orsection 112 of the coin slotis arranged substantially atrightangles with the upper part. Theupper part 111 ofthe coin slot is formed by aplate 114 secured to aplate 115 which in turn is secured to aflange 116 offset inwardl from theupright part 58 of theplate 54.

slot, the inner edges of thesides 117 bein spaced apart to permit thedog 118 to trave between them to-en with a'coinr' Thedog 118 is pivotally mounted'on a bracket 113' secured, to the p1ate'100 and its lower hook-like end 119 isyieldingly pressed towards the coin slot by aspring 120. A guard 123 (Fig. 4) fixed to theplate 100 covers thedog 118 andspring 120; When theplate 100 is in retracted position, as shown in Fig. 7, theupper part 121 of the 'coin slot holds thedog 118 outwardly to permit thecoin 122 to.

enter fully into the slot and encounter theinturned end 125ofa coin gage 124 by which a genuine coin ofrequisite thickness'is 7 he side edges 117 of theplate 114 are bent inwardly to form a.

stopped and held so that the dog may engage therewith and make it efiective in delivering an article. is too thin itwill pass thegage 124 and so, ineffectively through the coin slot. Thiscoin gage 124 is of usual construction and mode of operation. t a

If thehandle 38 is depressed when there is no coin in the coin slot held in position by theinturned end 125 of thecoin gage 124,

the hook'pa'rt119 of thedog 118 will encounter thestop 126 and thereupon the descent of the plate and the actuation of theplunger bar 7 7-will be arrested.

The means for directing a genuine coin into theupper part 111 of'the coin slot consists of anobliquely'arranged plate 128 pivotally mounted-M129 on the upper end of If the'coin or other disk of metal theupright part 58 of theplate 54. Cooper.- f

ating with the plate- 128 is adog 130 pivot- .ally mounted at 131 on a plate'132 ofl'set at right angles from the upper end of theplate 100. Thedog 130 isso shaped that it tends to turn in a counter-clockwise direction and bring thenose portion 134 thereof against the surface of theplate 128. Theentrance 136 of the coin slot is located in. the cover ing downwardly below. it.

art 29 of the machine and is arranged to eliver the coin against the upper surface of theplate 128 and just above thenose 134 of thedog 130 so that it will descend between the dog and theplate 128 into the upper part 1110f the coin slot. If a disk of fibreboard or other relatively light material is inserted through. theentrance 136 it will be caught and held by thedog 130. Then as theplate 128 is swung outwardly, when thehandle 38 is depressed, by the travel of thepin 138 fixed in the upper end of theplate 100 in theslot 139 formed in themember 140 connected with theplate 128, the disk of fibreboard or the like will be deflected from theentrance 142 of the upper part of the coin slot. If a disk of iron is inserted through theentrance 136 it will be caught and held on theplate 128 by means of the usual magnet143 secured to the underside of theplate 128 and project- Then when thehandle 38 is depressed and theplate 128 is swung outwardly the slug will drop to the bottom of the machine inefiectively.

To prevent the insertion of a washer into the coin slot theentrance 136 thereto is provided with means'for detecting and holding the washer. @n the inner side of thedoor 29 is located a"plate 145 having avertical slot 146 in alignment with theentrance 136. Alatch 147 pivoted at 148 in theplate 145 is arranged across the upper end of theslot 146.

A spring 14% tends to press thelatch 147 against thestoppin 150. Astop finger 152 pivoted at 153 in theplate 145 is arranged to be moved across the middle of theslot 146 when a washer is pushed into theentrance 136 and theslot 146 far enough to move thelatch 147. The connection between the stop finger. 152 and. thelatch 147 consists of aflexible member 154 fixed in the stopfinger and loosely connected with the latch. This construction is provided to permit thelatch 147 to be pushed aside When thestop finger 152 encounters the solid center of a genuine coin.

When a washer has beeninserted into theentrance 136 and encounters thelatch 147 thestop finger 152 is moved through the center of a washer and across the middle of theslot 146. Thefront side 156 of the stop finger is flat, asshown in Fig. 17, so as to prevent the user of the washer from pushing it through the entrance and into the machine. Therear side 157 of the finger, however, is beveled to permit the retraction ofthe washer without unfastening thedoor 29 or otherwise dismantling the machine.

Inasmuch as the arrangement of the hoppers one behind another in series, as set forth above, gives'an increased article holding ca pacity in a relatively small cabinet, it is necessary toprovide a coin boxof such construction and arrangement that it will contain the increased number of coins without interferslot.

ing with the working of the operating mechamsm of the machine. For this purpose thecoin box 160, which issubstantially square in' cross-section, extends throughout almost the full width of the cabinet and is supported on the bottom 31 thereof below the plunger bar" 77. The right hand end of thecoin box 160, viewing Fig. 4, is located under the Ilower part 112 of the coin slot. In the right hand end of the coin box is aninclined surface 161 located immediately under the discharge opening 162 of the coin slot so that when the coins fall from the coin slot they will strike theinclined surface 161 and roll of an inclined plate'165 (Fig. 10) supported from the right hand end of thepart 55 of theplate 54. Theright hand edge 166 of theplate 165 is folded over parallelly therewith so as to constitute an inclined slot by which the coins are directed intothe coin box. Theother edge 167 of theplate 165 projects forwardly and constitutes a lower extension of theupper part 111 of the coin slot. In order to deflect the coins from theupper part 111 of the coin slot which is arranged transversely of the longitudinal axis of thecoin F box 166, into the lower part;112 of the coin slot which is arranged parallelly with the longitudinal axis of the coin box, the lower end of theupper part 111 of the coin slot is provided with adeflector plate 168 which projects-inwardly and downwardly into the upper end of the lower side of thehinge 30 thereby leaving aspace 170 between thewall 171 of the coin box and thedoor 29. To p revent thecoins sliding part 112 of the coin down theinclined plate 165 of the lower end of the coin 'slot from entering thespace 17 0, aninclined guard'plate 172 secured to the inner side of thedoor 29 and located under.

trance 136 of the coin slot'is a plate mounted on the vertical edge of theplate 132 carried by the slottedmember 140. The means for holding theplunger bar 77 at the left hand side of the machine and theseal 174 behind .the rearward movement of theplunger 77the'entrance 136 of the coin slot when the I last article has been delivered from the mabrings thecross piece 177 into engagement with thehook 175, thereby holding thelunger bar 77 stationary and theseal 174 behind theentrance 136 to the coin slot.

The operation of the improved vending machine may be briefly recapitulated as follows When the parts are in normal inoperative position, theplunger bar 77 is at the right hand side of the cabinet,-as shown in Fig. 4, and thehandle 38 is at the upper end of theslot 17 in therear end 27 of the cabinet. If now someone attempts to depress thehandle 38 without inserting a coin into the machine,thedog 118 will engage with the 'stop 126 and prevent the effective actuation of theplunger bar 77. When a genuinecoin has been pushed into theentrance 136 and slides'down theinclined plate 128 into theupper part 111 of the coin slot it encounters the offsetend 125 of thecoin gage 124, and

is held in the osition shown in Fig. 7. It will be observed that the coin acts as a guard to prevent thehook portion 119 of thedog 118 from encountering thestop 126. Upon the depression of thehandle 38 after the insertion. of a genuine coin into the coin slot, thespring 120 forces thehook 119 of thedog 118 into engagement with the coin, as shown.

in Fig. 8, thereby permitting the'full downward movement of theplate 100 and the actuation of the plunger bar. 77 to cause an article to be delivered in the manner described above. If the purchaser. should depressthe handle 38 only part way after inserting a coin in the machine the 'dog 178 will engage with one or the other of theteeth 179 of thearm 180 of the threearmed lever 66 and prevent the return of thehandle 38 to its normal position. Thedog 178 is pivotally mounted at 181 on theoflset arm 57ofthe plate 54 and is held in its normal position by meansof'a spring 183. The arrangement of thedog 17 8 with relation to theteeth 179 and the end of thearm 180 is such pressed so that thelower corner 184 of thearm 180 will pass beyond thedog 17 8 before thehandle 38 will return to its normal position in the upper end of theslot 117. As

each column of articles'is delivered the pusher finger correspondingthereto becomes inoperative and the next preceding finger becomes effective to' delivdr the articles from the machine. When the last/article in thefirst column has been delivered thehook 175 drops down behind thecross piece 177 on the forward end of the plunger.bar 77 and trated in Figs. '1 and 2. This stand may support any desired number of the vending maplaced on a-revolving, portable stand, as illus chines. In the stand illustrated there are,

three machines, designated 190, 191 and 19:2.

The stand comprises anupright shaft 193 supported by ball-bearings 194 in the upper part of abase 195. To the upper end of the shaft 193 a handle 196 is fixed by which the stand and its machines may be moved from place to place. The cabinets of the vending machines are supported from the three-armed plates 197 and 198 fixed to the upper and lower ends of theshaft 193. The ends of the arms of theplates 197 and 198 are down turned as flanges 199 and'to these flanges thewalls 28 of the cabinets are secured by thebolts 200.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. A Vending machine having, in combination, a plurality of upright hoppers having open lower ends arranged one behind another in series, each hopper being adapted to contain a column of articles to be vended, a

trough into which the hoppers discharge, said trough being provided with a longitudinal slot in its bottom, a bar located beneath the trough and arranged to reciprocate parallelly with the slot, a series of 'fin ers pivoted on the fingers as hoppers, the upper article-engaging ends of-the fingers bar, there belng as many being arranged to project through the slot in the bottomof the trough, each finger being positioned to the rear of its corresponding hopper when the bar is in retracted position, and mechanism including a' lever and vertically movable handle for actuatingthe bar, said mechanism being disposed behind the hoppers, and the lever and handle being movable in a plane substantially parallel with that of the common plane of the hoppers. 2. A vending machine having, in combination, a series of upright hoppers arranged in opper being ada ted to contain a column of articles to be ven ed, a bar located under the hoppers and arranged to reciprocate longitudinally of the series of hoppers, a series of movable fingers corresponding tothe columns mounted on the bar, each finger occupying a position behind its column when the bar is in retracted position, and means including a sbt t'll th t' l that thehandle 38 must be completely deh S an m y 8 Same Ver lcal P each handle, the preceding fingers riding inoperatively undertheir columns until the succeed-- ing columns of articles are exhausted.

3. A vending machine having, in combination, a serles of upnght hoppers arranged in o substantially the same vertical plane, each hopper being ada ted to contain a column-of articles to be ven ed, a bar located under the hoppers and arranged to reciprocate longi-.

' tudinally in the common plane of the series of hoppers, a series of movable fingers mounted on the bar and arranged, unless depressed,

to project upwardly behind the lowermost article in the corresponding hopper when the bar is in retracted position, the columns of articles preceding the last unexhausted col-.

umn acting to depress and render inoperative their respective fingers, the finger corresponding to the last or rearmost unexhausted column acting to deliver the articles from that column beneath the preceding columns,- and means including a lever and a handle behind the common plane of the hoppers for actuating the bar. j

4. A vending machine having, in combination, a hopper for containing the articles to be vendod, coin controlled mechanism for delivering an article from the hopper, a plate on which the. coin controlled mechanism is su ported, headed studs fixed in the plate, a ca met for enclosing the-hopper and the mechanism and having holes in the rear side thereof, each hole being provided with a neck to receive and support the studs, and a latch for holding the plate in position.

5. Avendin 7 machine having, in combination,-a hopper or containing the articles to be vended, coin controlled mechanism for delivering an article from the hopper, a plate on which the coin controlled mechanism is supported, headed studs fixed in the plate, a cabinet for enclosing the hopper and the mechanism and having holes in the rear side thereof, each holebeing provided with a neck to receive and support the studs, and a spring.

actuated latch cooperating with one of the headed studs for holding the. plate in position.

6. A vending machine having in combina-.

tion a hopper for containing articles to be vended, coin controlled means for removing an article. from the hopper, a cabinet for enclosing the hopper and-the coin controlled mechanism, a plate for supporting the mechanism, headed studs secured to the plate, the rear wall of the cabinet being provided with holes through which the heads of the studs are adapted topass, the holes having neck portions for receiving and supporting the studs, and yieldable means for anchoring the plate in position.

' 7. In a vending machine of the class described, a casing having a delivery opening in one of its sides, an upright hdpper within the casing for containing articles to be vended, the lower end of said hopper being ad jacent to said delivery opening, reciprocable means below the hopper for ejectingthe lowermost article from the hopper laterally articles, and a coin controlled device for deliverin said articles comprising means for advancing an artlcle from the rear stack to the front stack at the same time that an article from the front stack is being delivered and means active only after the rear stack is empty for delivering articles from the front stack.

9. In a vending machine, a coin controlled mechanism for multiple stacks of articles to be dispensedv comprising a carrier ada ted to become operative upon the insertion o a coin, a pusher for advancing an article from one stack to another and for delivering an article from one stack, and a supplemental pusher for delivering an article after one stack has become exhausted.

10. In a vending machine containing front and rear stacks of articles to be dispensed, a

coin controlled delivering mechanism comprislng a sliding carrler, an ejector mounted upon the rear of said carrier and adapted to be tripped into active position upon the in sertion of a coin to eject articles from the machine, and a supplemental ejector on the forward portion of the carrier operable to eject articles from the machine when one of the stacks is empty.

11. In a vending machine having a com modity chamber, a coin controlled mechanism having anejector actuated by the insertion of a coin, means for locking said ejector against movement when no articles are present in the commodity chamber, said means comprising an element of which one end projects into the commodity chamber and the other end of which projects into the path of the ejector.

12. In a vending machine, a casing having a bottom upon which front and rear stacks of articles are adapted to rest, a coin controlled discharge carrier, means on the carrier for discharging the lowermost article in the front stack and for advancing. the lowerstacks of articles, means operable uponthe introduction 'of a coin for distpensing said articlescomprising a plurality o ej ectors, one of vsaid ejectors being adapted to advance an article from the rear stack to the front; stack and at the same time deliver an article from 4 J the front stack, and the other of said ejectors 'ada ted to deliver articles from the front stacfi when thereare no articles in the rear 10 stack" I 1 14. Acoin controlled machine com risinga casing having a plurality ofstacks 0 articles, means adapted to dispense the bottommost article of one. stack by abutting against it the bottommost article of the next stack, and addition'almeans adapted to dispense the remaining articles in-the machine after one of the stacks has been depleted, and means to prevent operation of the machine by spurious coins of insufiicient size or weight;

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifixmy signature. i

HARVEY GILES;

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