초록 ▼

A vending machine has a housing or casing supporting one or more interior shelves or trays upon which beverage containers can be placed in a position to be viewed by a customer through a window in the front of the machine. The window is located in a door on the front of the machine that is used to s

A vending machine has a housing or casing supporting one or more interior shelves or trays upon which beverage containers can be placed in a position to be viewed by a customer through a window in the front of the machine. The window is located in a door on the front of the machine that is used to stock the machine with fresh product from the front. Product containers are urged toward a vending channel at the rear of the machine and away from the stocking door, thus assuring a first-in first-out movement of each product container to assure freshness. The containers can be urged toward the vending channel by a spring, by gravity (as by placing them on an inclined tray surface and allowing them to slide toward the vending channel at the rear of the machine), or by means of a conveyor, e.g., a vibratory or belt conveyor. Each container in turn upon reaching the vending channel is released by a dispensing means into the vending channel through which it falls toward the product retrieval outlet at the front of the machine. An improved dispensing mechanism that acts positively to eject each container into the vending channel is also described.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A first-in first-out vending machine suited for vending beverage containers, comprising:a housing having a front and a rear, a door at the front of the machine for stocking fresh product containers into the machine, a vending channel within the housing at the rear of the machine through which the

1. A first-in first-out vending machine suited for vending beverage containers, comprising:a housing having a front and a rear, a door at the front of the machine for stocking fresh product containers into the machine, a vending channel within the housing at the rear of the machine through which the containers are free to move toward a product retrieval outlet, at least one product tray extending between the door and the channel for supporting a least one row of the containers for movement proceeding from the door toward the vending channel at the rear of each row, means for urging the containers in each row toward the vending channel such that containers first loaded through the door are the first to enter the vending channel at the rear of the machine, and dispensing means for releasing a container at the rear of each row into the vending channel responsive to a vending signal.