Abstract: This dispensing machine rack assembly is formed from a pair of complementary, individually molded rack portions interconnected in face-to-face relation to define a plurality of generally vertical container-receiving compartments. Each rack portion includes a plurality of vertically spaced ramps extending beyond the connection face of the racks and disposed in staggered, overlapping relation to the ramps of the other rack portion to provide a serpentine path for the containers. A container entry opening is provided at the upper end of the rack assembly and a container dispensing opening is provided at the lower end of the rack assembly. Each lower end opening is provided with a door having a container-receiving bin and a control means associated with the door to control movement of a container from the lower ramp into the bin.

Abstract: A container and dispenser for golf tees which is formed of a tube having a cylindrical opening through the center thereof for housing a plurality of golf tees one atop the other. The tube has attached at one end thereof an elastomeric nipple having an orifice therethrough for dispensing the tees. The tube is additionally provided with an opening for loading tees into the cylindrical opening thereof.

Abstract: A wall bracket device or rack for receiving, containing and stacking a plurality of disposable wet shaving razors where each razor is removable individually for use.

Abstract: A portable ice chest includes a food compartment and a pair of side-by-side, curved chutes for dispensing beverage containers by gravity through the first wall of the chest. A segregated ice compartment cools both the food compartment and the container chute. Access to both the ice and food compartments is gained through either a lid on the top of the chest or a door in the side of the chest. A separate door in the front of the chest allows access to a dispensing station to which the containers are delivered by the chutes. One embodiment of the chest includes a seat and backrest to allow an individual to employ the chest as a seat.

Abstract: By providing planar, auxiliary rail segments, each of which, in the stand-by state, protrudes into the commodity passageway with an upwardly-inclined posture and is pivotable to a downwardly-inclined posture upon impact from an article to be stored, the kinetic energy of the article as it proceeds down the rack is dissipated in changing the position of the auxiliary rail segment and damage to the article to be stored and any already-stored articles which is may encounter is prevented. The auxiliary rail segment may be spring biased and/or loaded to produce the desired amount of energy dissipation at each rail segment.

Abstract: A vending machine for articles such as newspapers, magazines or the like is provided wherein the articles are held in a vertical plane and can be viewed through a transparent front glass and wherein a single article is dispensed at a time and wherein the operation is substantially theft-proof in that it is virtually impossible to obtain more than a single article for each payment.

Abstract: A container for storing and displaying a reusable stack of cards bearing recorded information, comprising a four sided box, a cover hinged to one side of said box with a flange which, when the box is closed, fits over all four sides of the box, a transparent sheet mounted horizontally inside said box across the upper face of the box, a card-supporting shelf movable up and down within said box, a helical coiled spring positioned beneath said shelf to move said shelf and its stack of cards upwardly against said transparent sheet, a first horizontal slot in the hinged back side of the box for insertion of a card into the box and at the bottom of the stack of cards, a second horizontal slot in the opposite front side of said box positioned beneath the transparent sheet to permit the top card of the stack to be removed from the box, and mechanism mounted on the transparent sheet for engaging the top card of the stack and moving the card out of the box through the second slot.

Abstract: A dispenser of chewing gum and other stick-shaped products includes a rectangular container having an upper cover whose central region is cut away to afford access to the stick product which rests atop a false bottom. The latter is urged upward by bias springs so that the sticks may be dispensed by engaging the upper surface of the top stick through the opening with the user's thumb and pushing it through a dispensing opening with a rubbing motion of the thumb. The cover is retractable to permit reloading of the dispensing.

Abstract: An improvement in a dispenser for disposable razors having a housing which is mountable for conveniently storing and dispensing disposable razors includes a tongue for releasably mounting the housing on a backing member which is affixed to a wall. The housing stores a plurality of disposable razors in a stacked configuration with the handles of such disposable razors presented outwardly to be easily grasped and removed from the housing. A ledge is mounted on the housing for storing razors between uses thereof.

Abstract: A vending machine having a merchandise chamber for a flowable body of merchandise items of a selected normal depth is disclosed. The chamber is defined by a bottom wall, a top wall, a vertical front wall that is at least partially transparent, and vertical side walls. A mechanized dispenser near the bottom of the chamber dispenses the merchandise to the exterior of the chamber, and a display is positioned behind the front wall and above the normal merchandise depth. In one preferred embodiment, there is a vertical hopper partition extending between the side walls behind the display to divide the merchandise chamber into a front display chamber and a rear hopper that extends above the normal merchandise depth. The front display chamber is suitable for storing a plurality of such merchandise items. The bottom of the partition is spaced above the bottom wall a distance corresponding to the normal merchandise depth so as to allow the front display chamber to be kept at a stable level.

Abstract: A machine for vending newspapers and the like singly wherein a closed cabinet has an oblong dispensing opening in an upper portion of a side wall thereof. A newspaper supporting tray is mounted for vertical travel in the cabinet via the action of a spring and cable system which raises the newspaper stack progressively to dispose the topmost newspaper opposite the dispensing opening. A verticlly movable pushing finger assembly is mounted for vertical travel on a dispensing pusher frame which also includes a top stop for limiting upward travel of the stack.

Abstract: A vending apparatus well suited for vending such articles as newspapers, magazines or the like which vary in size, in which the articles to be vended are supplied to one side of an access opening in the vending apparatus enclosure. Access opening gating normally in a closed position prevents removal of an article unless, after paying a prescribed fee, the customer operates a gating actuator to cause the gating to be shifted to an open position in which an article can be removed through the access opening. Removal of the article causes the release of the gating permitting it to be returned to its normally closed position. The size of the access opening is readily adjustable, preferably by tubular members movable to more or less obstruct the access opening, and including elongated blocking members one of which extends through each of the tubular adjusting members to close the access opening.

Abstract: To increase the coin holding capacity of a product dispenser in order to compensate for an increased price of the product, and to avoid restructuring the wall-attached support plate for the dispenser, the dispenser coin box, adjacent product outlet portion of the dispenser and the coin box guard structure, are extended downwardly and forwardly from the lower end of the wall-attached support plate thus forming an inclined bottom on the dispenser and enabling the customary mounting procedure for the dispenser on the support plate.

Abstract: A vending machine for thin flat sheet articles wherein the article release mechanism comprises two pairs of diametrically opposed swingable trap doors, the trap doors being mounted on respective door mounting blocks and wherein the door mounting blocks incorporate recesses for registering with the article magazine, and article guides automatically aligning with the lower end of the magazine and extending below the level of the doors, whereby to guide individual articles from the magazines through the trap doors to ensure a precisely regulated feeding of articles.

Abstract: A cabinet for manually dispensing various brands of cigarettes or other packaged product wherein each package is stacked in individual compartments and dispensed from the rear of the cabinet to the front thereof by using a finger of the dispenser.

Abstract: A vending machine which comprises a replaceable, transparent loading magazine forming an array of honeycombed slots holding the goods to be dispensed. The magazine is positioned upside down over a plate having a small trap door under each slot. A chute under the trap doors directs the food falling through the trap doors toward a dispensing slot. The trap doors are controlled by electrical signals generated upon selection of the goods by the customer. The selection is made by dialing on a numerical keyboard the identification of the slot holding the desired item. The selection is enabled by a signal issued from the coin box after acceptance of the correct change.

Abstract: This invention relates to a container for generally cylindrical tablets which can be used to repeatedly dispense the tablets in pre-determined quantities. The dispenser comprises an outer case and a slidably mounted inner part which together define a container, a dispensing gate, and a downward sloping channel connecting one or two ramps situated at the base of the container to the gate. The width of the channel is such as to allow a single column of tablets supported on their peripheries. The inner part is depressable from the exterior to cause relative movement between the gate and the channel from one position where the gate is in register with the channel to a second position where the gate is in register with a dispenser outlet. The relatively simple design of the dispenser enables it to be injection-moulded from plastic material.

Abstract: Apparatus for the display and dispensing of merchandise with at least one vertically extending carrier supporting the goods. The carrier can be slid out of the apparatus into a position in which it extends most of the way out of the apparatus, this position being determined by a stop, the goods being readily observable in this position. The stop limiting the sliding-out distance of the carrier can be selectively manually displaced from its operative position, whereupon the carrier can be pulled out in its entirety and detached from the apparatus. The goods can be removed from the carrier only after the latter has been detached from the apparatus. Upon re-insertion of the carrier, the stop automatically snaps behind the carrier, so that no special manipulation of the stop is needed at this time.

Abstract: An improved locking apparatus for a slidably mounted product carrying shelf in a helical coil vending machine. Each shelf includes a front roller normally retained in a front stop. The locking apparatus comprises a pivotably mounted lock member mounted above the front stop of each shelf. The lock member has a lock surface which in a first or normal position of the lock member prevents the front roller from being removed from the front stop to lock the shelf in position in the vending machine. The lock member may be rotated to either a second or third position where the lock surface clears the front roller to allow the shelf to be slid out of the vending machine. The lock member is counterweighted such that it will remain in its third position to allow an operator to completely remove the shelf from the vending machine.

Abstract: A film storage and dispensing device wherein an upright magazine contains a stack of film rolls or cartridges, the magazine having an upper inlet and lower outlet for gravitational discharge, and a cover slidable on the magazine for selectively opening and closing the inlet and outlet.

Abstract: A machine includes a housing with a door or panel which is removable to provide an opening for access to the interior of the machine. The chassis which is normally horizontal carries two rear rollers at its sides near the rear of the chassis. The rear rollers engage horizontal guide rails on the sides of the housing. The chassis carries two front rollers at its sides near the front of the chassis. The front rollers engage a vertical guide. By these means the chassis is movable between its normal horizontal position and a vertical position in the opening at the front of the machine so that components on the underside of the chassis are accessible for servicing and repair.

Abstract: DIP components are released from storage in a generally vertical chute when a spring-biased first finger blocking the chute exit is pivoted away. A second finger presses laterally on a prong of the second lowest stored component and limits dispensing to a single component for each actuation of the first finger.

Abstract: A dispenser for disposable razors having a housing which is mountable for conveniently storing and dispensing disposable razors. The housing stores a plurality of disposable razors in a stacked configuration with the handles of such disposable razors presented outwardly to be easily grasped and removed from the housing. Also disclosed is a disposable razor package which maintains the disposable razors in an orientation convenient for insertion thereof into the disposable razor dispenser.

Abstract: A vendor having sliding trays or carriers in a cabinet, a latch being pivotably mounted on one side of the cabinet adjacent the front end of one of a pair of channels in which channels the carrier is slidably mounted by means of two series of rollers, the series being on opposite sides of the carrier. Each channel has upper and lower flanges which extend from its respective side toward the opposite side of the cabinet. A pair of rail members are disposed, one on each of the sides of the cabinets, at the forward ends of the channels. Each rail member has a rear upper surface portion generally flush with the lower flange of its channel and a forward upper surface portion which progresses upwardly in forward direction from the rear upper surface portion to a peak. The peaks are spaced from the forward ends of the upper flanges of their respective channels a distance greater than the diameter of the rollers.

Abstract: The embodiment of the invention disclosed herein is directed to a bread vending machine used for storing, displaying and selectively dispensing a plurality of packaged food articles, such as bread. The vending apparatus includes a housing structure having side, top, bottom and rear wall portions which are arranged to be constructed and assembled at a site where it is used as a floor mounting unit. The vending apparatus includes a plurality of discrete spaced apart compartments formed therein, and wherein each compartment is sized and configurated to receive packaged food articles substantially in the size and configuration of a loaf of bread. The vending apparatus further includes a corresponding plurality of discrete spaced apart hinged door members which form substantially entirely the front wall of the vending apparatus, and which door members each includes its own individual coin receiving and door lock release mechanism.

Abstract: A self-enclosed tablet dispenser for dispensing tablets into liquid-filled containers, such as swimming pools, including a first tube to hold the tablets, a base connected to the first tube with a horizontal passageway in which a plunger slidably reciprocates to move the tablet from the bottom of the first tube at one end of the passageway to the other end of the passageway, and a second tube connected to the base at the other end of the passageway to guide the tablet into the liquid by gravity means. The second tube may be open-ended on the bottom, or it may be closed so as to hold the tablets while allowing the liquid to enter and thus dissolve the tablets.

Abstract: A dispensing container for beverage straws and the like, intended for disposition on a restaurant table or counter, comprises a base portion on which rests a cylindrical housing having a concave, preferably frustoconical, floor and a vertically elongated side aperture for egress of straws. A dome-like closure rests over the housing with a hinged door for feeding straws into the housing. An axial rod extends from the dome through the housing and carries one or more radial, resilient vanes or pushers for feeding straws toward the egress aperture. The rod is keyed at its lower extremity to a rotary element having radial lugs extending through the base portion and exposed for digital engagement, whereby rotation of the rotary element turns the pushers, the latter acting on the straws to feed them toward the aperture. Consequently, a single straw at a time is tipped outwardly from the container for convenient grasping by the user.

Abstract: Method of charging a chute for the feed of objects to a machine using a casing which has a band shaped frame forming a wall surrounding the objects and two detachable end lids closing the frame at lateral edges opposite each other. The frame at one point on its circumference is pliable apart. The method comprises removing one end lid, placing the casing in an opening in the side of the chute, and removing the other end lid. The opening in the chute is then closed and the frame is plied apart to release the objects in the chute.

Abstract: To avoid disputes as to which players have the next turn to use a tennis court, a container is mounted at a convenient location such as on the fence surrounding the court. The player deposits a suitably distinctively marked ball in the open top of the container, resting on previously deposited balls. A stop spaced below the open bottom of the container prevents balls from dropping out. The gap between the stop and the bottom edge of the container is slightly less than the diameter of the ball; however, when the bottom ball is pulled, it distorts sufficiently to pemit removal.

Abstract: A versatile merchandising machine for dispensing a variety of goods including bagged snacks and the like in which each of a plurality of delivery units of one of a number of vertically spaced shelves includes a pair of horizontally aligned oppositely wound helices which receive articles between aligned pairs of turns of the helices and in which selectively energisable individual detent motors respectively drive the helices of the pairs in opposite directions to advance the leading article of the unit into engagement with an article control element hanging down in front of the unit to guide the article to control its movement over the edge of the shelf and downwardly to a delivery area. The shelves can be slid outwardly and swung downwardly through a limited arc to facilitate loading.

Abstract: A vending apparatus of a type utilizing a selectively rotatable helical member. The helical member is connected at one end to an annular plate having gear teeth around the inner periphery thereof. A drive gear is disposed within the annular plate and is in operative engagement with the teeth on the inner periphery of the annular plate. The drive gear and thereby the annular plate and helix is driven ultimately by an electric motor. Once the motor is turned on the helical member will rotate one-half of a revolution before being switched off by a switching device. A vertical divider is disposed within the helical member and supports the helical member along the top thereof. A portion of the helical member is aligned along the longitudinal axis of the helix and this portion is connected to the vertical divider for stabilizing and supporting the helical member as it rotates. A plurality of such vending units are stacked on top of one another and are slidable into and out from a cabinet housing.