초록 ▼

A dispensing machine in which a carriage moves articles along the horizontal floor of a module toward a releasing mechanism by which the articles are dispensed one at a time. The carriage includes a drive wheel that engages a track on the module floor, the wheel being driven by a spring mounted on a

A dispensing machine in which a carriage moves articles along the horizontal floor of a module toward a releasing mechanism by which the articles are dispensed one at a time. The carriage includes a drive wheel that engages a track on the module floor, the wheel being driven by a spring mounted on and carried by the carriage. Rollers on the sides of the carriage ride in guide channels on the sides of the module to hold the wheel in firm contact with the track so that the spring is wound when the carriage is pushed back within the module and the carriage is advanced as the spring unwinds. The module is open along the top so that articles can be inserted between the carriage and the releasing mechanism. A plurality of such modules are mounted on horizontally movable drawers that can be withdrawn from a cabinet for loading while a latch restrains each carriage at the rear of the module during loading. When the machine is used to dispense cigarettes, a window panel at the front of each module can permit tax stamps on the bottom ends of packages to be viewed. Since the spring is contained by the carriage, it does not obscure the stamps.

대표청구항 ▼

A dispensing machine comprising: a module in which articles to be dispensed can be arranged in a row; releasing means disposed at one end of said module for releasing said articles sequentially upon actuation thereof; a carriage movable along said module for advancing said articles toward said relea

A dispensing machine comprising: a module in which articles to be dispensed can be arranged in a row; releasing means disposed at one end of said module for releasing said articles sequentially upon actuation thereof; a carriage movable along said module for advancing said articles toward said releasing means, said carriage including a non-rotatable structure and a drive wheel rotatably connected to said non-rotatable structure; and spring means mounted on and carried in its entirety by said carriage for driving said carriage toward said releasing means, said spring means being connected to said non-rotatable structure and said drive wheel to be wound by rotation of said drive wheel in one direction and unwound by rotation of said drive wheel in another direction.