US3752546A - Selective dispensing apparatus having door interlock structure - Google Patents

Abstract

An electromechanical control system for the product selection doors of a multiple-section, product-display vending machine locks the doors closed until a proper coinage deposit has been made, whereupon a selected door may be opened to remove a product from the machine. After opening, the door is automatically held against accidental closing, although manual closing of the open door is permitted after the purchased product is removed. If the open door is not manually closed, a timer associated with the system causes automatic closing of the door after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. The product conveyor of the machine may not be advanced while the door remains open, and any attempt to actuate the conveyor initiates automatic closing of the door.

Description

[ Aug. 14, 1973 SELECTIVE DISPENSING APPARATUS HAVING DOOR INTERLOCK STRUCTURE Wilbert 0. ONeal, lndependence, Mo.

Assignee: The Vendo Company, Kansas City,

Filed: Mar. 30, 1972 Appl. No.: 239,541

{75] Inventor:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,875,878 3/1959 Hoban 312/97 X 3,147,838 9/1964 Mueller et a1. 312/97 X 3,697,148 10/1972 Weber 312/138 R Primad Examiner-James c. Mitchell Attorney-Schmidt, Johnson, l-lovey & Williams ABSTRACT An electromechanical control system for the product selection doors of a multiple-section, product-display vending machine locks the doors closed until a proper coinage deposit has been made, whereupon a selected door may be opened to remove a product from the machine. After opening, the door is automatically held against accidental closing, although manual closing of the open door is permitted after the purchased product is removed. if the open door is not manually closed, a timer associated with the system causes automatic closing of the door after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. The product conveyor of the machine may not be advanced while the door remains open, and any attempt to actuate the conveyor initiates automatic closing of the door.

11 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures SELECTIVE DISPENSING APPARATUS HAVING DOOR INTERLOCK STRUCTURE This invention relates to an electromechanical control system for regulating the product compartment access doors of vending stations in a multipurpose selective vending machine.

The electromechanical system of the present invention has particularutility in shopping type vending machines which display a large assortment of various food products to a potential customer and allow him to advance a product conveyor behind the display window of the machine until the conveyor bin containing the selected product is brought into position behind a vending station access door. After deposit of a proper combination of coinage, the doors are unlocked and the customer is permitted to open the proper door to remove his selection.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an access door control system for multipurpose selective vending machines as above described which locks the access doors against opening thereof until proper credit has been deposited in the machine and, after opening of a door, holds the latter against other than intentional closing thereof such that a customer, if he so desires, may use only one hand to deposit his credit, open the door, and remove his selection.

A further important object of the present invention is the provision of a control system as aforesaid which allows a customer who is accustomed to closing vending doors after removing a purchase from the machine to override the structure holding the door open and manually close the door.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a control system as above set forth wherein an open door is automatically closed aftera preselected period of time has elapsed, in the event that the door has not been manually closed.

Yet another important object of the instant invention is to provide a control system having all of the advantages as aforesaid, with the additional feature of providing for immediate, automatic closing of an open door when an attempt is made to jackpot the machine by actuating the product conveyor to bring additional products to the open door.

Other important objects will be made clear or become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a fragmentary, elevational view of the control system of the present invention mounted on the inside surface of a vending machine cabinet door, one of the product access doors having the open position thereof indicated in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a vertical, cross-sectional view of the system taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical crosssectional view of one of the access doors and accompanying mounting structure therefor;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, horizontal, crosssectional view of structure for holding one of the doors in an open condition, taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, horizontal, crosssectional view of the locking means for one of the doors taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view, on a reduced scale, of a shopping" type vending machine for which the control system of the present invention has particular utility;

FIGS. 7-12 are diagrammatic representations illustrating the operation of the control system, all looking toward the interior of the cabinet from the inner door thereof, except for FIG. 1 l which views the control system from the opposite direction; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a simplified, representative control circuit for the door timer and product conveyor mechanism.

Referring initially to FIG. 6, the vending machine depicted therein has acabinet 20 provided with an outer,decorative door 22 having a large,rectangular opening 24. A plurality of horizontally alignedvending stations 26 are situated along the lower stretch of a similar rectangular opening 28 of the inner,storage compartment door 40 ofcabinet 20, and a slightlyinclined display window 32, above the line ofvending stations 26 within opening 28, permits viewing of food products or the like stored in bins of anendless product conveyor 34. A switch button onouter door 22 controls energization ofconveyor 34 to permit a potential customer to shop by depressingbutton 35 to advance the products vertically behindwindow 32 until the row containing his selection appears atstations 26. After depositing the proper coinage, the customer is allowed to open any one of the series oftransparent access doors 36 atstations 26 to remove his selection.

A space betweenouter door 22 andinner door 30 belowopenings 24 and 28 is adapted to house coinage control mechanism which is designed, for example, to check the amount of credit deposited inthe machine, perform authenticity checks, and return change to the customer when needed. This mechanism, as well as details of theproduct conveyor 34, form no part of the present invention and, accordingly, will not be hereinafter described, although frequent reference will be made thereto in order to describe the control system of the present invention in the clearest manner possible.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. 1-3, the components of the control system embodying the concepts of the present invention are mounted on a large, rectangularmain plate 38 which, in turn, is mounted on the inner face ofinner door 30.Plate 38 has an uppennost,horizontal flange 40 which overlies the lower margin of opening 28 ininner door 30 and a pair of slightly horizontally offset, upper and lower planarmounting sec tions 42 and 44 respectively. Adoor frame 45 affixed to the upper end ofsection 42 has a series of horizontally spaced, vertically extendingguides 450 which overlap the side margins ofadjacent doors 36 to confine the latter during vertical shifting thereof and to define adjacent access openings which thedoors 36 serve to open and close.

Theaccess doors 36, preferably being of various sizes corresponding to the spacing betweenguides 45a, are identical in construction and operation. Accordingly, for purposes of simplification, only the details of one of thedoors 36 will be described, with the understanding that its principles are equally applicable to theother doors 36.Door 36 is mounted for individual, vertical shifting movement onupper section 42 by means of an elongated,vertical bar extension 46 which is secured at the uppermost end thereof to the lower end ofdoor 36 by a pin and washer assembly 48 (FIG. 3). Thebar 46 is disposed on the opposite side ofsection 42 fromdoor 36 and projects through an opening 50 in the horizontal stretch 52 (FIG. 2) ofplate 38 interconnectingsections 42 and 44. A vertically disposed T-slot 54 insection 42 receives the pin ofassembly 48 for shifting ofdoor 36 andbar 46 as a unit between the two extreme positions illustrated by the second door from the left in FIG. 1. A bending coiledspring 56interconnects door 36 and the lower extremity ofsection 42 to yieldably biasdoor 36 toward its closed condition, and amanual operating ledge 58 at the uppermost end ofdoor 36abuts flange 40 whendoor 36 is depressed to its fullest extent.

Eachdoor 36 is provided with a releasable locking means, broadly denoted by the numeral 60 (FIGS. 1, 2

and which prevents opening of thecorresponding door 36 until the proper coinage combination has been deposited. Locking means 60 includes alocking cylinder 62 which is supported by an L-shaped bracket 64 onplate section 44 for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the surface ofsection 44.Cylinder 62 coopcrates with a generally crescent-shaped inlet 68 (FIG. 7) inbar 46 adjacent the lower end of one side thereof to block or permit passage ofbar 46 through anotch 66, depending upon a rotative position ofnotch 66 incylinder 62.

A cylinder crank'70 secured to the outer end ofcylinder 62 is spring-loaded to biascylinder 62 into the locking position thereof wherein passage ofbar 46 throughnotch 66 is denied, and asolenoid 72, adjacent the lower margin ofplate section 44 operates throughlinkage 74 to rotatecrank 70 and hence lock-cylinder 62.Lock solenoid 72 is adapted to be connected to a source of electrical power (not shown) for energization and aswitch 76 adjacent the opposite side ofvertical bar 46 is interposed between the source of power and locksolenoid 72 for controlling actuation of the latter. Switch 76, in turn, is made responsive to vertical shifting ofvertical bar 46 by atab 78 onbar 46 which shifts the spring-loadedswitch lever 80 between alternate positions opening andclosing switch 76.

It is contemplated thatsolenoid 72 be electrically coupled with credit checking mechanism for evaluating the coinage deposited by a customer and that, upon deposit of the proper credit, power be supplied to the circuit of which switch 76 andsolenoid 72 are components. In FIG. 1,switch lever 80 is disposed to maintainswitch 76 in an open condition such that, even though a proper coinage deposit has been made,solenoid 72 remains unactuated until such time as thedoor 36 is depressed slightly to correspondingly shift tab 78 a sufficient distance to allowlever 80 to spring out of its switch-opening position. A door interlock system, which prevents opening more than one door at a time, forms no part of the present invention but includes an electrical circuit of which the series ofswitches 82 along the lower margin ofmain plate 38 are components.

When adoor 36 is opened, it is retained in this condition by control structure onsection 44, broadly denoted by thenumeral 84, and shown in detail in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4.Control structure 84 includes a U-shaped, horizontally extendingbar 86 which traversesvertical bars 46 in front of the latter and is supported for horizontal shifting movement by virtue of a pair of spacedsupport posts 88projecting slots 90 in bar 86 (FIG. 1). Alight tension spring 92 at the right end of bar 86 (FIG. 1) yieldably biasesbar 86 to its rightmost position as shown therein. A plurality of identical, springloaded pawls 94 (FIGS. 4 and 7-12) are spaced alongbar 86 to serve as latches for thedoors 36, respectively, there being onepawl 94 for eachdoor 36. Eachpawl 94 is pivotally mounted on the inner vertical face ofcommon bar 86 for swinging about apivot pin 96 which defines an axis perpendicular to bar 86. Atorsion spring 98 interconnectingpin 96 within the bight ofbar 86 andpawl 94 yieldably biasespawl 94 into a normal, horizontal disposition.

Eachvertical bar 46 is provided with an elongated, vertically extendingrack 100 along the left side thereof, viewing FIGS. 1 and 11, which presents a series of notches for latchingly receiving the outermost tip of thecorresponding pawl 94 when thecorresponding door 36 has been depressed to a sufficient extent. A spring-loadedanti-backup pawl 102 onsection 44 abovebar 86 is provided for thedoors 36 adjacent the right side of each vertical bar 46 (viewing FIGS. 1 and 11), respectively, for positive engagement with anantibackup rack 104 extending along the right side of the correspondingvertical bar 46.

Thecommon bar 86 is shiftable between three horizontal positions, the first of such positions being illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein components of the system are in a standby condition withdoors 36 closed. A second position ofbar 86 is slightly to the left of the FIG. 1 position thereof wherein a spring-loaded, L-shaped biasing member 106 pivotally mounted onsection 42 adjacent the right end ofbar 86 engages across pin 108 through thebar 86 to increase the resistance to further leftward shifting ofbar 86. A stretegically located roller 110 (FIG. 7) onbar 86 for eachdoor 36, is disposed for engagement by aninclined cam surface 112 on the correspondingvertical bar 46 to effect such initial shifting of thecommon bar 86. A third position of bar 86 (FIG. 11) is to the extreme left of the original position depicted in FIG. 1 and is effected by actuation ofshifter mechanism 114 which includes an electricallyactuatable solenoid 116, a J-shaped rod 118, and a pivotal arm which engages aroller 122 at the leftmost end ofbar 86.

FIG. 13 shows a simplified circuit diagram for controlling themotor 124 of a timer andmotor 126 of theproduct conveyor 34 with respect to the other components of the control system. Operating voltage for the components of the circuit is supplied by a pair oflines 128 and 130. A single-poledouble throw switch 132 disposed below common bar 86 (FIG. 1) and responsive to shifting of the latter, is shiftable between a pair ofopposed terminals 134 and 136 and is shown in FIG. 13 withcommon bar 86 in its standby position with all of thedoors 36 closed. Alead 138 connects terminal 134 with one side of thetimer motor 124, and a lead 140 interconnects the opposite side oftimer motor 124 andline 130. A single-pole, single-throw switch 142 operated by thetimer motor 124 is interposed between a lead 144 fromlead 138 and lead 146 from one side of theshifter solenoid 116. Another lead 148 interconnects the opposite side ofsolenoid 116 andline 130. A pair ofleads 150 and 152 fromterminal 136 and lead 138 respectively, are connected toshopping button switch 35 onouter door 22 which is a double-pole, double-throw switch. A lead 154 interconnects one of theterminals 156 ofswitch 35 withlead 146 from one side ofsolenoid 116, while anotherlead 158 interconnects theother terminal 160 ofswitch 35 with one side of theconveyor motor 126. Ashort lead 162 connects the opposite side ofmotor 126 withline 130.

OPERATION The operation ofthe control system may be most easily understood by frequent reference to FIGS. 7-12 showing the components of the control system in various stages of operation. Prior to operation of the machine, all of theaccess doors 36 are in their closed conditions, presenting the potential customer with the arrangement depicted in FIG. 6. Theconveyor 34 may be advanced as required by pressingswitch 35 to bring products successively tostations 26, butdoors 36 may not be opened until the proper coin combination has been deposited. FIG. 7 shows the condition of thevertical bar 46 of arepresentative door 36 and related structure at this time, with thenotch 66 of lockingcylinder 62 disposed to deny passage ofbar 46 therethrough thus locking the correspondingdoor 36 against opening, and theantibackup pawl 102, along with latchingpawl 94, both in standby conditions.

It is important to note that becauseinlet 68 onbar 46 is substantially larger than the diameter oflock cylinder 62, thebar 46 is permitted slight initial downward movement until such time as the upper end ofinlet 68 strikes the body ofcylinder 62. This initial free travel is sufficient to movetab 78 away fromswitch lever 80 to closeswitch 76. Thus, when a customer has deposited his coinage, credit and authenticity checks are immediately performed by other components of the vending machine and, if the results are satisfactory, electrical power is supplied to thecircuit containing switch 76 andlock solenoid 72. When the customer makes his selection and depresses theappropriate door 36,switch 76 closes to actuatelock solenoid 72 which rotateslock cylinder 62 vialinkage 74 and crank 70 into the position illustrated by the right-hand lock cylinder 62 in FIG. 8, thus permitting opening pfthe chosendoor 36 to continue as thevertical bar 46 thereof passes throughnotch 66.

As thevertical bar 46 continues downwardly, thecam surface 112 thereof engagesroller 110 oncommon bar 86 to effect slight lateral shifting ofcommon bar 86. During such initial shifting, thelock solenoid 72 is de-energized to permitlinkage 74 to drop back to its normal, unactuated position by virtue of the enlarged linkage opening 74a, thecrank 70 remaining in its rotated position during such return oflinkage 74. The initial lateral shifting ofcommon bar 86 also places. the latchingpawl 94 into proper disposition belowrack 100 for subsequent engagement thereby, as shown in FIG. 8.

During the time thatroller 110 engagescam surface 112, theanti-backup pawl 102 engages theproximal rack 104 and swings downwardly for successive reception into each notch in therack 104 asdoor 36 continues to be depressed. This assures that credit deposited by a customer will not be lost, even if the customer's hand should slip fromdoor 36 during depression of the latter.

Asdoor 36 continues to be opened against the bias ofreturn spring 56, thevertical bar 46 moves from its FIG. 8 position to that of FIG. 9, during which time the latchingpawl 94 is engaged and swung downwardly by theproximal rack 100 as the outer tip ofpawl 94 is successively received within successive notches ofrack 100. Oncepawl 94 has latchingly engagedrack 100,rack 104 moves pastanti-backup pawl 102 such thatdoor 36 is retained against closing after this time only by the latchingpawl 94. Thereturn spring 56 continuously seeks to override the efforts ofpawl 94 during this time to shiftdoor 36 back to its closed condition. However, because of the additional resistance provided by the spring-loadedmember 106, thecommon bar 86 is yieldably prevented from further lateral shifting, which would, of course,permit pawl 94 to disengage fromrack 100. Thus, thedoor 36 is yieldably maintained in its fully open condition, permitting access to the product at the correspondingstation 26 for removal from the vending machine.

At this functure, any of three possible events may occur. First, the customer may be in the habit of closing product access doors himself and, therefore, seeks to do the same withopen door 36. Such action is accommodated in the present system since, when the customer grasps thedoor ledge 58 to raise the latter to its closed condition, the force generated throughvertical bar 46 is imparted topawl 94, and the biasingmember 106 is overridden as thecommon bar 86 is shifted to its fullest extent as illustrated in FIG. 10. This allowspawl 94 to flip over center as shown in FIG. 12, whereupon returnspring 56 aids the manual closing. Thus,door 36 may be completely manually returned to its original closed condition, whereupon thelocking cylinder 62 returns to its locking condition and the remaining components resume their initial respective conditions.

A second possibility is that the customer will leavedoor 36 open after removing his selection. Obviously, this is an undesirable condition, and hence the provi sion of automatic closing ofdoor 36 after sufficient time has passed to assure removal of the selected product. Such automatic closing of thedoor 36 is effected by virtue of a timer, themotor 124 of which is shown as a component of the simplified electrical circuit in FIG. 13, and its relationship with thedoor shifter mechanism 114. Asdoor 36 is opened, thecommon bar 36 moves switch 132 againstterminal 134, thereby energizing thetiming motor 124. After a predetermined period of time has expired, such as approximately 10 seconds, themotor 124 operates to closeswitch 142, thus energizingshifter solenoid 116 to operatearm 120, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, which shifts thecommon bar 86 to its fullest lateral extent. Because of the relative lateral displacement of rack and the tip ofpawl 94, the latter can no longer retainvertical bar 46 against the action ofreturn spring 56, and the latter returnsdoor 36 to its closed condition aspawls 94 and 102 swing over center as shown in FIG. 12.

The third possibility is that the customer will attempt to jackpot the machine by energizingconveyor 34 whiledoor 36 is open to present successive products to theopen vending station 26. Such action is made impossible by virtue of the circuit in FIG. 13 wherein it may be seen that when adoor 36 is open, theswitch 132 is forced bycommon bar 86 to contact terminal 134, thus bypassingconveyor motor 126, even when the shopping switch 3Sis depressed againstterminal 160. Moreover, such actuation ofshopping switch 35 also causes the latter to contact terminal 156, thereby causing energization ofshifter solenoid 116 to effect immediate closing of the open door. Once the open door is closed, switch 132 returns to contact terminal 136, permitting actuation ofconveyor 34 byshopper switch 35. The vending machine is thus once again in condition for customer use.

It is important to note that the vending process may be carried out using only one hand. After the customer has deposited his credit, he may depress theappropriate door 36 and remove hisselection with the same hand becausedoor 36 is held openfor him. From then on, he may either manually close thedoor 36 or allow it to be automatically closed after i seconds or another suitable time period has elapsed.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various minor modifications and substitution of equivalents could be made from the preferred structure described for purposes of illustration without departing from the spirit and gist of the invention. Accordingly, the invention should be deemed limited only by the fair scope of the claims that follow.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. in a vending machine:

means including a cabinet presenting a plurality of vending stations;

means for supplying products to each of said stations;

a shiftable product selection door for each of said stations respectively,

each door being shiftable between an open condition wherein the door permits access to a product supplied to the corresponding station and a closed condition wherein the door precludes access to said product;

first control means operably associated with said doors for releasably retaining each door respectively in the closed condition thereof;

second control means operably associated with said doors for releasably holding thedoor of a selected station in the open condition thereof after release of said first control means and shifting of the door to said condition; and

means operably coupled with each of said doors, re-

spectively, for returning an open door to the closed condition thereof upon release of said second control means.

2. The invention as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first control means includes shiftable locking means for each door, respectively, movable between a locking position wherein the locking means blocks movement of the door to the open condition thereof and an unlocking position wherein the locking means clears the door to permit such movement; electrically actuatable operating means coupled with said locking means to effect shifting of the latter from the locking to the unlocking position thereof and adapted to be connected to a source of electrical power; and switch means associated with said operating means for controlling actuation of the latter, said locking means when in the locking position thereof being disposed to permit slight initial movement of the door toward the open condition thereof, said switch means being open when the door is in its closed condition and being responsive to such initial movement of the door to close and thereby permit actuation of the operating means by said power source.

3. The invention as claimed inclaim 2, wherein said locking means for each door is pivotally supported for rotation thereof between said locking and unlocking positions within the path of travel of the corresponding door, said locking means having a clearance slot therein aligned with the door when the locking means is rotated to the unlocking position thereof whereby to permit passage of the door through the slot and out of alignment with the door when the locking means is rotated to the locking position thereof whereby to deny such passage.

4. The invention as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second control means includes a control member shiftably supported for movement between first and second positions thereof along a line traversing the paths of travel of said doors and having a plurality of individual door latches thereon corresponding in number to the number of doors provided at said stations, each of said latches being disposed when said member is in the first position thereof for latchingly engaging a corresponding door when the latter is shifted to the open condition thereof and being disposed for releasing a corresponding, previously opened door when said member is in said second position thereof.

5. The invention as claimed inclaim 4, wherein each latch is pivotally supported on said member for swinging of the latch by a corresponding door between a pair of alternate extreme positions as the door is moved between'said opened and said closed condition thereof.

6. The invention as claimed in claim 5, and wherein is provided yieldable means interconnecting the member and each latch respectively for biasing the latter toward a normal, standby position disposed between said alternate extreme positions thereof.

7. The invention as claimed inclaim 4, and wherein is provided yieldable means coupled with said member for biasing the latter to said first position thereof.

8. The invention as claimed in claim 7, wherein said door returning means includes yieldable means biasing each door respectively toward its closed condition.

9. The invention as claimed inclaim 4, and wherein is provided adjustable shifter means operable upon actuation thereof to shift said member from said first to said second position thereof.

10. The invention as claimed in claim 9, and wherein is provided timing means operably associated with said doors and said shifter means, said timing means being operable to actuate said shifter means after any one of said doors has remained in the open condition thereof for a predetermined period of time.

11. The invention as claimed in claim 9, wherein said product supplying means includes customer-actuated mechanism capable of presenting a succession of products to said stations upon customer demand, and wherein is provided means operably coupled with said shifter means for actuating the latter in response to attempted operation of said mechanism when a door is in the open condition thereof.

* l I i

Claims (11)

1. In a vending machine: means including a cabinet presenting a plurality of vending stations; means for supplying products to each of said stations; a shiftable product selection door for each of said stations respectively, each door being shiftable between an open condition wherein the door permits access to a product supplied to the corresponding station and a closed condition wherein the door precludes access to said product; first control means operably associated with said doors for releasably retaining each door respectively in the closed condition thereof; second control means operably associated with said doors for releasably holding the door of a selected station in the open condition thereof after release of said first control means and shifting of the door to said condition; and means operably coupled with each of said doors, respectively, for returning an open door to the closed condition thereof upon release of said second control means.

2. The invention as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first control means includeS shiftable locking means for each door, respectively, movable between a locking position wherein the locking means blocks movement of the door to the open condition thereof and an unlocking position wherein the locking means clears the door to permit such movement; electrically actuatable operating means coupled with said locking means to effect shifting of the latter from the locking to the unlocking position thereof and adapted to be connected to a source of electrical power; and switch means associated with said operating means for controlling actuation of the latter, said locking means when in the locking position thereof being disposed to permit slight initial movement of the door toward the open condition thereof, said switch means being open when the door is in its closed condition and being responsive to such initial movement of the door to close and thereby permit actuation of the operating means by said power source.

3. The invention as claimed in claim 2, wherein said locking means for each door is pivotally supported for rotation thereof between said locking and unlocking positions within the path of travel of the corresponding door, said locking means having a clearance slot therein aligned with the door when the locking means is rotated to the unlocking position thereof whereby to permit passage of the door through the slot and out of alignment with the door when the locking means is rotated to the locking position thereof whereby to deny such passage.

4. The invention as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second control means includes a control member shiftably supported for movement between first and second positions thereof along a line traversing the paths of travel of said doors and having a plurality of individual door latches thereon corresponding in number to the number of doors provided at said stations, each of said latches being disposed when said member is in the first position thereof for latchingly engaging a corresponding door when the latter is shifted to the open condition thereof and being disposed for releasing a corresponding, previously opened door when said member is in said second position thereof.

5. The invention as claimed in claim 4, wherein each latch is pivotally supported on said member for swinging of the latch by a corresponding door between a pair of alternate extreme positions as the door is moved between said opened and said closed condition thereof.

6. The invention as claimed in claim 5, and wherein is provided yieldable means interconnecting the member and each latch respectively for biasing the latter toward a normal, standby position disposed between said alternate extreme positions thereof.

7. The invention as claimed in claim 4, and wherein is provided yieldable means coupled with said member for biasing the latter to said first position thereof.

8. The invention as claimed in claim 7, wherein said door returning means includes yieldable means biasing each door respectively toward its closed condition.

9. The invention as claimed in claim 4, and wherein is provided adjustable shifter means operable upon actuation thereof to shift said member from said first to said second position thereof.

10. The invention as claimed in claim 9, and wherein is provided timing means operably associated with said doors and said shifter means, said timing means being operable to actuate said shifter means after any one of said doors has remained in the open condition thereof for a predetermined period of time.

11. The invention as claimed in claim 9, wherein said product supplying means includes customer-actuated mechanism capable of presenting a succession of products to said stations upon customer demand, and wherein is provided means operably coupled with said shifter means for actuating the latter in response to attempted operation of said mechanism when a door is in the open condition thereof.

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