초록 ▼

A multiple-product merchandising machine having a cylindrical drum mounted within a cabinet. The drum is divided into a plurality of horizontal shelves each of which is divided by a plurality of vertical walls into separate compartments from which the product can be dispensed. These compartments can

A multiple-product merchandising machine having a cylindrical drum mounted within a cabinet. The drum is divided into a plurality of horizontal shelves each of which is divided by a plurality of vertical walls into separate compartments from which the product can be dispensed. These compartments can be brought into alignment with access doors associated with each level and the doors, which are normally maintained locked, can be opened upon the insertion of adequate currency in the machine to remove the product. The access door locking system prevents more than one door from being opened at one time. The drum is rotatable in either direction by a reversible motor. A viewing area is provided in the front of the machine which allows a prospective customer to see the product as it passes by. The drum is divided into sections with opaque walls which prevent viewing from the viewing area of more than half of the compartments on a shelf when the drum is in its rest position. The drum can be restricted in its rotation so that less than all of the compartments can be accessed by the access doors. The section which is accessable can be changed at different times of day, or if the previous section has had a lot of its items sold so that a new supply of items can be viewed and accessed.

대표청구항 ▼

A multiple-product merchandising machine comprising: a cabinet having a viewing area in which the products in several of the compartments on each shelf can be seen at one time by a potential customer; a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum mounted within the cabinet for rotation about its central l

A multiple-product merchandising machine comprising: a cabinet having a viewing area in which the products in several of the compartments on each shelf can be seen at one time by a potential customer; a cylindrical merchandise carrying drum mounted within the cabinet for rotation about its central longitudinal axis and having a plurality of annular product supporting shelves at spaced intervals along the drum concentric with the axis of the drum, a plurality of walls extending between adjacent shelves and together with the shelves defining a plurality of individual compartments in which product may be placed; a plurality of access doors in the cabinet, one each associated with a respective shelf on the merchandise carrying drum and disposed adjacent thereto for allowing access to a compartment on the respective shelf when the compartment is aligned with it, the access doors being movable between an open position and a closed position and being normally locked in the closed position; currency actuated means for allowing a selected access door to be moved from the closed position to the open position when a predetermined amount of currency is inserted by a customer; reversible motor means for rotating the merchandise carrying drum in either direction; manually controllable actuating means for actuating the reversible motor means to rotate the merchandising drum to allow a customer to bring any compartment on a shelf into alignment with the associated access door; and control means for activating the motor means at a predetermined time after a selection has been made and in either direction of rotation of the drum to bring the drum to a predetermined rest position at which it is stopped, the control means being operable to determine the number and location of empty compartments and to move the drum to a rest position at which it is stopped and in which the fullest section of the drum with the least number of empty compartments is disposed adjacent the viewing area of the cabinet.