Abstract: A cup rack includes a cup rack body for receiving multiple cups in a stack, and a base for supporting the storage cups in the cup rack body and defining an access port for finger access to pick up the cups individually.

Abstract: A cup rack includes an upright cup body for receiving multiple cups in a stack, and a base for supporting the storage cups in the upright cup body and defining an access port for finger access to pick up the cups individually.

Abstract: A product dispensing system having a frame with a front end and a rear end, and including an upper support deck extending between the front end and the rear end, a lower support deck positioned below the upper support deck, the lower support deck extending between the front end and the rear end and defining a product display area, a guide extending from proximate the upper support deck to proximate the lower support deck, and a stop positioned proximate the product display area.

Abstract: A storage device for bottles with a neck, comprising at least one coupling member suitable for suspending the device beneath a shelf of a domestic refrigerator, and a hollow dispensing guide extending longitudinally from a rear end to a front end having a dispensing opening. The dispensing guide has a top face provided with the coupling member, a bottom face and a C-shaped cross section with an opening into the bottom face. The opening has a width suitable for allowing the narrowed portion of the neck of a bottle to slide freely and so that the longitudinal rims of the opening oriented toward the inside form bearing rails of a length more than twice the diameter of the widened portion of the neck of the bottle, on which this widened portion rests when the bottle is suspended.

Abstract: Article retrieval equipment (1) having a portion used by customers arranged at the front of a device body and a portion used by sales persons arranged at the rear of the device body and particularly suitable for use while the sales persons and customers are positioned face-to-face with each other, comprising an article storage chamber (3) for storing articles (A) and a control room (5) for storing a power transmission means (95) and a coin selector (100), wherein a rotary disk (36) for feeding the articles (A) to an article outlet (72) is fitted to the bottom wall (6) of the article storage chamber (3), the article outlet (72), an operation part (81) for rotating the rotary disk (36), and a coin inlet (102) are formed at the front of an equipment body (2), a controlling opening (60) for controlling the power transmission means (95) and allowing a coin storage case (115) to be withdrawn and an access opening (16) for accessing the articles (A) in the article storage chamber (3) are formed at the rear of the eq

Abstract: A vending machine including a dispensing door openable to permit removal of merchandise from the vending machine, and a one-way stopper positioned relative to the dispensing door, such that upon removal of merchandise from the vending machine, the one-way stopper is deployed to a position that prevents placing the merchandise back in the vending machine.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide for a wrapping apparatus and associated methods and a cassette device for holding utensils. The wrapping apparatus may include a first holder for holding first items to be wrapped. The wrap is placed on a rotating table when the rotating table is rotated into a first position. One of the first items to be wrapped is moved from the first holder onto the wrap on the rotating table when the rotating table is rotated to a second position. A wrapping mechanism then wraps the first item in the wrap.

Abstract: A capsule dispensing apparatus includes an elongate tube for containing a plurality of capsules and a housing remote from the elongate tube. The elongate tube may be releasably coupled to the housing, and a dispensing arm connected to the housing may control the release of the capsules from the elongate tube. The dispensing arm is preferably a solenoid plunger having an end encircled by a solenoid coil, and the solenoid coil is electrically connected to a power supply and a button for moving the solenoid plunger from an extended configuration to a seated configuration, whereby dispensing a capsule. A refrigeration unit has a cooling coil mounted in an interior space defined by the housing and a heat dissipation coil mounted outside the housing interior space for cooling the capsules, and a counter/alarm system provide notice that a certain number of capsules have been dispensed.

Abstract: A dispenser sequentially dispenses a plurality of containers. The dispenser includes a housing having a front, a rear, a top, a bottom, a first side and a second side, with an inlet and an outlet for the containers being disposed on its front. A passage is disposed within the housing and guides the containers from the inlet to the outlet. A receiving door is connected to the housing and is movable between a closed position covering the inlet and an open position allowing the containers to be inserted into the inlet. The receiving door includes a front face contoured to cooperate with the passage to guide the containers to a predetermined orientation upon insertion into the inlet. The passage is also canted toward one side of the housing to maintain the containers in the predetermined orientation.

Abstract: A gravity feed merchandise dispensing device comprises at least one plastic track capable of supporting in tandem a row of similar bottles of the type having an annular neck flange, and has a lead bottle support basket suspended at the front end of the track which is removable and interchangeable with other lead bottle supports so as to accommodate bottles of different heights. The rails of the track have a sloped transition section at the front end of the track which eases movement of bottles off the track and into the basket, and facilitates the front loading of bottles into the track.

Abstract: A bottle dispenser has a gate mechanism to maintain the foremost one of the track-supported bottles substantially vertical. The dispenser includes an elongate track which defines a longitudinally extending pathway, a support assembly for the track, and a stopper provided at the front end of the track. The track supports a row of flanged bottles such that the bottles are suspended by their neck flanges for movement along the pathway and removable from the pathway through the front end of the track. The support assembly supports the track such that the track is inclined toward its front end whereby the suspended bottles are allowed to gravity feed toward the front end when the leading bottle in the row is removed from the track. The stopper engages with the leading bottle to prevent its accidental removal through the front end. The gate mechanism blocks the pathway at a position between the front and rear ends of the track.

Abstract: A vending apparatus for supplying articles such as snacks is disclosed. Articles to be dispensed from the apparatus travel horizontally in a direction parallel with the front surface of the apparatus to a position from which the articles drop through a vertical shaft at the side of the apparatus to a delivery area. The apparatus is compact in size and is capable of holding a large inventory of different snack articles. The apparatus has a low profile and may be mounted to a wall by means of a mounting bracket.

Abstract: An apparatus for dispensing objects such as billiard chalk and containers of powder comprises a housing with a front door and two hoppers in it, one hopper for a stack of pairs of chalks and one for a stack of containers of powder, a shelf located below the hoppers, a chute beginning behind the shelf and leading to an access opening in the housing below its front door, and two coin mechanisms in the door of the housing. The coin mechanisms have push rods mounted so that they intercept the selected object when pushed. Placement of coins of the appropriate denomination enables the pushing of the push rods toward the selected object and its pushing from the shelf into the chute.

Abstract: Vending machine (1) for newspapers, in the form of a cabinet capable of automatically delivering into a receptacle one copy of a newspaper which a purchaser has selected from a plurality of other newspapers and paid for with a payment device incorporated in the vending machine. The cabinet comprises fixed and movable shelves on which the newspapers are stored in various stacks each of a same newspaper. On each of the stacks is provided an individual discharge assembly for the upper newspaper of the stack of newspapers. There are two columns of fixed horizontal shelves (56) secured at each side to two vertical supports (61, 62) welded at their ends to the upper and lower parts of the cabinet and at least one movable shelf for each column. Each discharge assembly for the upper newspaper from a stack of newspapers is displaceable relative to the shelf supporting that stack.

Abstract: In a method of operating a vending machine, a glass container is dispensed with its vertical axis tilted in the vending machine in response to the selective generation of a preselected vending signal. The vertical axis is predeterminately altered into a generally vertically extending position in the vending machine, and the glass container is dropped base portion first in a generally vertical free fall path of the vending machine with the vertical axis of the glass container disposed in its vertical extending position. A vending machine is also disclosed.

Abstract: A transparent display article dispenser, includes spaced front and rear walls and spaced side walls integral with the front and rear walls to define a vertical chute having open upper and lower ends. The front wall includes a first horizontal retainer flange projecting into the interior of the passageway at a lower end of the chute. The rear wall includes a second horizontal retainer flange projecting towards the first retainer flange and being spaced below the first retainer flange a distance in excess of the height of the article being dispensed. An opening is formed within the front wall below the first retainer flange for removal of an article resting on the second retainer flange. An elongated removable see-through tubular cartridge sized smaller in cross-section than the chute passageway and being configured to that passageway has a lower end inserted within the chute passageway and stores articles to be dispensed in a serial, abutting fashion.

Abstract: Apparatus for storing and dispensing pieces of chalk, the apparatus comprising a container including an outside surface having an input port and an output port formed therein such that the output port is positioned other than directly beneath the input port, a chalk channel positioned within the container and connecting the input port to the output port such that the input port is located at a highest point of the channel and the output port is located at a lowest point of the channel, the channel having a width so as to allow each piece of chalk within the channel to contact no more than two other pieces of chalk in the channel, and a dispensing rack extending from the outside surface of the container proximate to the output port for holding at least one piece of chalk.

Abstract: A commodity delivering device for automatic vending machines in which both thick commodities and thin commodities are sorted out automatically without manually adjusting the commodity passage width. The automatic vending apparatus includes: a commodity feed mechanism in which the commodity mechnism is equipped with: first stopper for freely switching between an activation position and a no-activation position, the activation position thereof being projected into a commodity passage so as to support the thick commodity and the no-activation position being retreated from the commodity passage; second stopper, disposed right under the first stopper, for freely switching between an activation position and a no-activation position; and feed stopper for switching between an activation position interlocked with the first or second stopper so as to thereon support the commodity, and a feed position for transferring the commodity downward.

Abstract: A vending mechanism for a cylindrical article dispenser of a type having a column of stacked cylindrical articles moved along a dispensing pathway by a force, such as by the force of gravity, is disclosed, which has an escapement mechanism which is attachable in operative alignment with a vending pathway of a column of stacked cylindrical articles. An upstream arm is pivotably attached in the escapement mechanism, having a first position blocking a portion of the vending pathway and having a second position retracted from the vending pathway to allow cylindrical articles to move past the upstream arm. A downstream arm is pivotably attached in the escapement mechanism, having a first position blocking a portion of the vending pathway and having a second position retracted from the vending pathway to allow cylindrical articles to move past the downstream arm.

Abstract: A dispenser for dispensing lids for soft drinks or the like from a stack held in an upright container having a discharge opening. An abutment shoulder is attached to the inside of the upright container near its discharge opening. The lowermost lid in the stack is held by the abutment shoulder. In starting position, a prong projects through the container above the lowermost lid. The prong is manually moved by a handle on the outside of the container to a position below the abutment shoulder. As the prong moves below the abutment shoulder, it flexes the lowermost lid and releases it from the abutment shoulder. The lid drops through the discharge opening as the prong is returned to starting position by a spring.

Abstract: A method for automatically dispensing items from shelves includes the steps of orienting magazines for a particular type of item horizontally in multi-tier shelves in such a way that removal openings in the respective bottom side face walls of the item type magazines are horizontally aligned, assigning to each magazine tier at least one item pusher, simultaneously removing from the respective tiers the items belonging to a particular requisition order, collecting them in a collecting device, depositing them on or in a conveying device, and transporting them to merchandise delivery sites. The apparatus for facilitating use of the method includes a multi-tier shelf with item type magazines on each tier, an item pusher on each tier, and a conveyor for conveying the items removed from the magazines to transport apparatus.

Abstract: A limited access container that limits the rate at which articles can be withdrawn therefrom includes a retrieval rod which extends through the top cover of the container and which has an article-holding implement on the lower end thereof. After securing an article thereto, the rod is lifted to the top of the container and the article passed through a slotted horizontal passageway to a vertical shaft down which it is lowered to a point adjacent a container opening for removal of the article. A pivotable lever is located adjacent the passageway having a passageway blocking member on one end and a blocking-activating member on the other end.

Abstract: A dispenser for wiring accessories has an elongate plate-like configuration and comprises a baseplate from which projects a bar extending transversely across the baseplate to a width less than the width of the baseplate. A longitudinal groove in the bar parallel to the baseplate runs the full length of the bar. A lip faces the longitudinal edge of the bar into which the groove opens. The lip is parallel to and spaced from this longitudinal edge. The baseplate is extended at one end of the bar. A transverse cradle on this extension receives a wiring accessory and a longitudinal finger projects cantilever-fashion from the bar over the cradle and is spaced from the cradle to retain a wiring accessory in the cradle.

Abstract: A two-tiered display rack merchandiser for gravity feeding two columns of products one after another to the front of the rack as the lead product in either column is successively removed by a customer, each column of which includes a roller-mounted tray which, when loaded with product, is operative to push products located in front of the tray forwardly over a slip surface over which the products would not slide in the absence of the roller-mounted tray pusher at the rear of the column. The rollers of each tray are entrapped within tracks which extend parallel to opposite sides of the slip surfaces such that the trays cannot easily be removed from the rack.

Abstract: A vending machine for dispensing a single, folded, rectangular newspaper from a group of abutting similar newspapers has a frame and housing with an interior, bottom support plate inclined downwardly toward and ending at a forward edge spaced from the front wall of the housing. A barrier extends transversely at the forward edge of the bottom plate, is spaced from the front wall to leave an opening and is adapted to be abutted by the lower folded edge of the leading newspaper. A movable back support wall is spring-urged over the bottom plate and toward the barrier to advance newspapers along the bottom plate. The forward folded newspaper, when pressed against the barrier by the back wall, also rests above or upon one or more drum cams, each having a support surface for a newspaper fold and having a separator fin. Each drum cam is mounted on a shaft rotatable by a handle and returned by a spring.

Abstract: A can dispenser includes a storage rack having a lowermost storage shelf extending downwardly at a slight angle to the horizontal toward a discharge end thereof. A pair of stops are secured to the discharge end along opposing sides thereof for preventing the stored cans from freely rolling out of the discharge end. A dispensing lever includes first and second ends and is supported for limited turning movement about a lateral axis to raise the second end of the dispensing lever when the first end thereof is forced downward. The second end of the dispensing lever includes a camming surface disposed between and extending generally behind the stops for raising a can to be dispensed off of the lowermost storage shelf and above the stops, while a catch surface disposed behind and below the camming surface temporarily prevents further advancement of the remaining cans in the storage rack.

Abstract: A device is disclosed for separating, orienting and positioning axes including at least one operational flat. The device includes a static chute equipped with a wide bottom opening closed by a drawer which is moved with a back and forth motion from a withdrawn position in which it unveils a narrow opening which is large enough to enable the fall of a single axis onto rolling blades which are extended by descending ramps bringing each axis onto two bearing-sliding blades. The bearing sliding blades cooperate with two push plates, as well as a trap borne by the drawer, to produce the roll of the axis in the desired direction, followed by the slide of that axis without rotation to a selected position.

Abstract: Card dispenser for participating games involving an element of chance sequentially dispenses a stack of random cards placed into the device. The dispenser includes a hopper having a dispensing opening and a track divided by uniformly spaced upwardly directed transverse ribs into a series of adjacent co-planar card receiving surfaces. Elongate guide members on the track and mating channels on downwardly depending skirts on the hopper permit the hopper to move relatively to and along the track to bring the dispensing opening into registry with successive ones of the card receiving surfaces, the hopper advancing the lower-most cards in the stack until deposited on a surface while the transverse ribs prevent movement of the deposited cards in the direction of hopper movement and therefore retain the cards in the deposited positions thereof.

Abstract: Disclosed is apparatus for vending sealed water filled bags of live bait by way of a plurality of helical conveyors coupled with support shafts rotatably driven by selectively actuated motors. The apparatus includes a spring loaded platform assembly having a dispensing chute aligned with the opening in the housing; transparent windows for viewing the bags prior to vending; and a switch assembly responsive to the weight of the bags for preventing initiation of the vending cycle when the supply of bags is exhausted.