Patents by Inventor Josef Gress

Josef Gress has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4729480
    Abstract: A vend basket for a coin operated vending machine which includes a first roller whose axis is parallel to the rotational axis of rollable products, such as bottles or cans, and is set back from the front wall of the basket by a distance greater than the diameter of the rollable product but less than twice the diameter so that only one product can fit and pass between the front wall and roller. The roller is also spaced above the bottom wall of the basket so that two rows of products can fit and pass under the roller. A second roller whose rotational axis is also parallel to the rotational axis of the rollable products is located in front of the first roller adjacent the front wall directly above a dispensing lid. The distance between the first and second rollers is such that only one article at a time can pass therebetween to a cradle formed in the dispensing lid. Such a structure permits a greater number of movable products to be located in the basket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1988
    Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company
    Inventors: Phillip B. Groover, Gunther Baumgartner, Josef Gress
  • Patent number: 4676074
    Abstract: A coin-operated vending machine for bottles or cans of a moderate capacity, including a plurality of side-by-side storage chutes for feeding bottles or cans to openings in the front wall of the vending machine and a cradle in each of the openings forming a row of adjacent cradles for receiving the bottles or cans from the chutes. A refrigeration system directs chilled air by convection toward the next-to-be-vended cans in each of the cradles. The chilled air is directed by an air foil toward the cradles and the cradles have stand-off ribs therein to permit the free flow of chilled air under and around the next-to-be-vended cans.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company
    Inventors: Annis R. Morgan, Jr., Bernd Mehlan, Josef Gress, Hugh S. Williford, Gunter Baumgartner
  • Patent number: 4576272
    Abstract: A coin-operated vending machine for bottles or cans of a moderate capacity, including a plurality of side-by-side storage chutes for feeding bottles or cans to openings in the front wall of the vending machine, a cradle in each of the openings forming a row of adjacent cradles for receiving the bottles or cans from the chutes, and a mechanical interlock between the respective cradles for precluding the dispensing of more than one product for any vend cycle. The mechanical interlock also includes a spring-detent assembly for indexing the cradles between closed, intermediate, and fully-open positions in a step-by-step manner. The mechanical interlock is designed to be substantially tamper-proof. A vend chute structure is also provided which permits flexibility of product loading, the free flow of cooling air throughout the vending machine cabinet, and easy cleaning of the vend chute and associated components. The vending machine is adaptable for use on a counter top or mounting to the wall of a building.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1984
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1986
    Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company
    Inventors: Annis R. Morgan, Jr., Bernd Mehlan, Josef Gress, Hugh S. Williford
  • Patent number: 4509339
    Abstract: An automatic selling machine is equipped with a cooling system whose evaporator and evaporator fan are dispensed in the goods compartment on an insulating intermediate bottom of the machine housing, and whose condenser, condenser fan, and compressor are accommodated below the intermediate bottom. The cooling system is an assembly to be exchanged as a unit. For this purpose, the intermediate bottom is provided with an opening having peripheral shoulders on which an insulating supporting plate closing the opening rests. The evaporator is mounted above the plate, while the condenser, the compressor, and the condenser fan are mounted at the underside of the plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1983
    Date of Patent: April 9, 1985
    Assignee: Sielaff GmbH & Co. Automatenbau Herrieden
    Inventors: Bernd Mehlan, Josef Gress
  • Patent number: 4396105
    Abstract: A price setting mechanism of a vending machine for setting one of two or more sales prices is disclosed. Merchandise dispensing devices are mounted on an operating base plate. Depending on the sales price, at least one control bar is coupled to a respective merchandise dispensing device, on the one hand, and to a release mechanism for the merchandise dispensing device on the other. To make the setting mechanism simple and clearly settable, there are fastened to the control bar or bars, guide bushings which extend transverse to the travel direction of the control bars and in which slide pins are mounted. In one position, one end of each slide pin projects into the path of motion of a control cam of the merchandise dispensing device while being outside of the path of motion of the control cam in a second position thereof. The other end of the slide pins project beyond this bushing in each one of the two positions, on the operating base plate side which is opposite the merchandise dispensing devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1981
    Date of Patent: August 2, 1983
    Assignee: Sielaff GmbH & Co., Automatenbau Herrieden
    Inventors: Bernd Mehlan, Josef Gress
  • Patent number: 4235351
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a merchandise dispensing device for a vending machine. The device comprises a dispensing part, with a dispensing compartment floor, capable of pivoting from an intake position to a dispensing position. In the dispensing position, the merchandise, capable of rolling, especially bottles or tins, stored in inclined compartments prop by a support arch. A roll-on surface is provided in between the support arch and the dispensing compartment floor, to facilitate a rolling of the merchandise in the intake position, in which the dispensing compartment floor forms an obtuse angle with the roll-on surface and the dispensing compartment floor is wider than the roll-on surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1978
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1980
    Assignee: Sielaff GmbH & Co. Automatenbau Herrieden
    Inventors: Richard Kolbl, Bernd Mehlan, Josef Gress, Frank Dorrbeck, Rudolf Leichs