US2772811A - Selective bulk merchandise vending machine - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 4, 1956 I 'H. M. SCHAEF SELECTIVE BULK MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z 9. 7 l i ii in Dec. 4, 1956 H. M. SCHAEF 2,772,811

SELECTIVE BULK MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 4, 1956 H. M. SCHAEF SELECTIVE BULK MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 4, 1956 H- M. SCHAEF SELECTIVE BULK MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet i; 5 1 00 -53 44 1 =3 45 1 f'I I,

76 21 104 79 34 0fll07/C? 90 V ,1 f. M Wfdzu ag 45 i $2; H 83 a; W 27% 57 wtagd Dec. 4, 1956 H. M. SCHAEF 2,772,811

SELECTIVE BULK MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 chandise.

United States Patent O SELECTIVE BULK MERCHANDISE VENDING MACHINE Harold Maschaef, Chicago, 111., assignor'to Victor Vending Corp.,-Chicago,*lll., a corporation of lilinois Application January 19, 1955, SerialNo. 482,749

' 11 Claims. cram-15s This inventionrelates to merchandise *vending ma in which the articles of'merchandise, even thoughthey are not individually stored, may nevertheless be individually selected and vended.

It is Well known that vendingmachines of many types and constructions have been utilizedfor the vendingof merchandise of various types including merchandise which is individually packaged and merchandise which is unpacka'ged and inbulk. 'Heretofore suh-machines have been generally .classified according @to the state of the merchandise dispensed, *i. e. selective machines for dispensing packaged or individually stored -merchandise and bulk machines for dispensing merchandise usually unpackaged and stored in bulk rather than individually.

Heretofore the bulk machines have beenincapableof atiording to the. customer the opportunity forgpre-selecting the merchandise to be dispensed. Of course where the articles of merchandise in the {machine were uniform,

a selective mechanism was unnecessary since. such .Ina-

chines were limi ted to ithe "dispensing .of only a single type of merchandise. ;If more than one type of .mer-

chaudise was stored in the machine for-dispensing, then :zines aslin the bulk vending machine magazines, unless,

of course, thesize was materially increased. Thisfurther added to the cost of :the machines. Onathe other hand Without the selective feeiturenthe bulktven'dingsmachines were limited in application, especially :in :recent years due to the increasingmendency to legislate ragainst machines which involved any ielemen't rof :chance-iin the dispensing :operationsl-"Thus', for example, :the dispensing of charms in ball guinnbulk. vendinglmachines is forbidden in some :States because of Fthe: element :of

chance involved in the dispensing of 111116 same. I

It-is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide a selective :bulk vendin'g machinet'whichiwill overcome an :or 'the disadvantages mentioned'rh'ereinabove. s

A furthersobjecristo afiord "asbulk vending :machine which will-dispense either packaged or unpack-aged mer- Still another object is to so :devise -an'd :construct a bulk vending "machinethat adarge volume ofimerchan- V 2,772,811 rammed Dec. 4, 1956 dise 'may"be stored within the storage magazine of the machine. An object relating thereto is to provide a selective vending machine in which themerchandise may be stored in bulk withinthe magazine. I

Still a further object is to afford a merchandisedis pensing machine in which the articles of merchandise mayfirst be viewed by -the operator and' then selected as desired for dispensing.

Yet another object is to provide a selective. merchandise vending machine provided with a "number of safeguards'toeprevent pilfering or milking of the machine while 'at the same time safeguarding'the'customerby assuring the dispensing of an article of merchandise lfor each coin accepted by the machine.

A related object is .to provide a'dispehsing member having a number of individual compartments Within which are positioned individual 'articles'of merchandise. One or moreof such compartmentsare exposed to view and the customer-is then enabled to-rotate the dispensing member viewing each article of merchandise in each compartment until he has determined which of these articleslie desires to;purchase. After making the selection, and only then, need he deposithis coin to actuate the "dispensing mechanism.

Another related object is to so design the' selecting mechanism that the member in which the individual articles of merchandiseare positionedfor selection, may be *rotated inboth directionsfor facilitatingselection by the customer.

A'further related object is to provide a means "for positively insuring the proper-positioning of-each article of merchandise in dispensing position.

Yet another object is to aiiord a selective bulk vendingmachine sodesigned that" servicing or replenishing ofthe stock ofmerchandise is accomplished'with minimum effort and time.

Yet a further object isto-provide 'a positive operating tive construction.

particularly pointed out in the-appended claims, it being understoodthat variouschanges-in the form, proportion, size and minor details ofthe structure' may bemade-withadvantages of the invention."

For the purpose of facilitating -an understanding "of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection ,of-which, whenconsidered in connection "with the following description,my-inventiomits mode of construction, assembly andcperation, iandmany of its .ad-

vantages should ,beireadily understood .and appreciated.

Referring fmime-drawings in whicht-the same characiEISDf reference are employedto indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures wet the drawings? a .out departing from. the spirit or sacrificing :any of "the Fig. l is a front'elevational view of a vending machine embodying the principles of my invention with a portion of the magazine wall broken away to show the bulk storage of the merchandise therein and with a portion of the pedestal wall broken away to show certain details of construction;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view taken. on the plane of line 22 in Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction indicated;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail view taken substantially on the plane of line 3-3 in Figs. 4 or 8 of the drawings and likewise viewed in the direction indicated;

Fig. 4 is a. sectional plan view taken on the plane of line 44 in Fig. l with portions of the dispensing wheel broken away to better illustrate certain details of construction;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail view taken on the plane of line 5-5 in Fig. 4 of the drawings and again viewed in the direction indicated;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional plan view taken substantially on the plane of line 6-6 in Figs. 1 or 9 of the drawings and looking upwardly in the direction indicated;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail view taken on the plane of line 7--7 in Figs. 4 or 8 of the drawings and viewed in the direction indicated;

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view taken onthe plane of line 8-8 in Fig. 9 of the drawings and looking up in the direction indicated;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of line 9-9 in Fig. 8 and showing in elevation certain details of construction;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of line 1010 in Fig. 1 of the drawings and showing a detail of construction of the merchandise chute; and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing a detail of construction and illustrating a step in the operation of the machine.

Referring now to several figures of the drawings, it will be noted that the machine which is generally designated in Fig. l of the drawings by the reference numeral 20 may comprise a number of separable housing members including a pedestal base designated generally by reference numeral 21 and having a transparent merchandise-viewing annular housing member 22 mounted thereon. Mounted above said transparent viewing member 22 may be an opaque merchandise storage globe 23 with a dome-shaped cover such as 24. The globe 23 may be provided with a transparent window such as 25, the purpose of which will become apparent as the description proceeds.

It will be noted that the globe 23 contains a plurality of articles of merchandise each stored in a transparent plastic merchandise capsule C. In Figs. 1, 7 and 9 it will be noted that the merchandise capsules 26, are stored within the globe 23 in bulk. However, it will further be noted that they are positioned within the merchandise viewing housing 22 each in an individual compartment. This, of course, comprises an important feature of the machine. Thus, by. providing selective means whereby the customer may select any one of the articles of merchandise displayed behind the transparent wall of the viewing housing 22, the bulk vending'machine may be converted to a selective machine.

Pedestal base his of generally rectangular shape as defined by a front wall 26, a back wall 27 and a pairof integrally formed side walls 28 and 29. The walls may be tapered b? flare outwardly and upwardly as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The bottom of the pedestal may be closed by a bottom closure member 30 which in turn may be spaced from the bottom edges of the walls as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. The top of the pedestal may be closed by a top closure member 31 which likewise serves as a mounting plate for the selecting and dispensing mechanisms which will be subsequently described.

The closure member 31 may be formed with a marginal depending flange 32 adapted to encircle the top marginal edges of the pedestal walls to effect a closure therebetween as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings. If desired, a rubber gasket may be positioned therebetween to insure a water-tight seal. Spaced inwardly from the outer edge of the closure member, there maybe formed an upstanding annular ridge such as 23 (see Figs. 1, 7 and 9) adapted to encircle the bottom edge of the transparent annular viewing member housing 22. Again a rubber gasket may be interposed therebetween to effect a water-tight seal if desired.

Completing the description of the pedestal base 21, the front wall 26 is provided with a delivery chuteopening 34 through which the merchandise may be delivered. There is also mounted on this front wall a selector knob 35, an actuating handle 36 mounted in front of the front wall of a coin mechanism 37 having a coin slot 38 positioned therein.

Transparent merchandise viewing housing The transparent merchandise-viewing housing 22 may comprise an annular ring formed with an annular groove 39 in the upper edge of the inner surface thereof, as shown in Figs. 7 and-9 of the drawings. This groove 39 is adapted to receive the bottom edge of the merchandise globe 23. The transparent window 25 may be integrally formed at the top of the transparent viewing member 22 again as shown in Figs. 1 and 9 of the drawings. The window 25 is provided so that the articles of merchandise may be viewed from the top as well as the front. It may, of course, be formed in any desired shape but in the embodiment chosenfor illustration comprises a semicircular member.

Merchandise selecting wheel Positioned within the annular merchandise viewing housing 22 is a novel merchandise selecting wheel 40 rotatably mounted by means of a central opening 41 on a central hollow tubular standard 42. The standard in turn is permanently mounted on the mounting plate 31. The central opening 41 of the wheel.40 is defined by a depending annularwall 53 (see Figs. 6 and 9 of the drawings). 7

Referring now to Fig. 6 of. the drawings it will be noted that the wheel 40 is formed with a plurality of outwardly opening slots 43 formed in the periphery of the wheel. Each of these-slots comprises a compartment within which -may be positioned a merchandisecontaining capsule C as shown in the several figures 'of the drawings. In the embodiment chosen for illustration there are twelve such slots-formed in the wheel 40. However, it should be obvious that the number of slots may be varied as desired andthe'size and shape thereof may likewise be varied to accommodate various types of merchandise either packaged or in bulk.

The wheel 40 may comprise a cast-aluminum member with a bottom-opening central cavity 44 as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings. Within this cavity 44 may be mounted an actuating control wheel or disc 45 which'will now be'described in some detail. Referring to Figs. 6 and 9 of thedrawings it will be noted that the control disc 45 is formed with a plurality of depending sprocket teeth 46 formed in spaced relationship, about the marginal bottom edge of the disc 45. The funcstantly urged towards the outer periphery of the actuatmg control disc 45. The reason therefor is because its normal position is between one of the adjacent pair of teeth 50 as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. However, as the control disc 45 is rotated along withthe merchandise wheel 40, the locator pin rides inwardly on the inclined surfaces 51 of the teeth 50 against the spring action of the coil spring 96 thereby permitting rotation thereof. Obviously when no rotative force is being exerted, the locator pin will tend to return to its normal position between a pair of adjacent teeth 50. Since this position is directly opposite the mid-point of each merchandise slot 43, it will readily be perceived that by properly positioning the slot 90, the positioning of each merchandise slot 43 directly in the center of the dispensing openings 65 may readily be achieved thereby.

Mechanism for locking merchandise wheel during dispensing operation It should be apparent that unless the rotation of the merchandise wheel during the interval when the trap door 67 is opened to permit dispensing of the merchandise is locked, it would be possible for a customer to hold the trap door open while simultaneously continuing to rotate the merchandise wheel to successively position additional merchandise slotsover the opened dispensing opening 65. Thus unauthorized pilfering or milking of the machine would be invited. To insure against this, a novel locking mechanism has been provided which automatically locks the merchandise wheel 40 against continued rotation during the dispensing interval but likewise unlocks the wheel as soon as the trap door 67 is closed. This mechanism will now be described in some detail.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 6 and 8 of the drawings, it will be noted that another elongated slot 99 is provided in the mounting plate 31 through which may project a locking pin 100. This pin in turn is mounted on a slide plate 101 mounted below the mounting plate 31 by means of a pair of threaded bolts such as 102 similar in construction to the bolts 92 used to slidingly mount the slide plate 91. The slide plate 101 is formed with a pairof elongated slots such as 103, one positioned on each side of the elongated slot 99 and within which are positioned the mounting bolts 102. The slide plate 101 is free to reciprocate back and forth in the direction'which is indicated by an arrow in Fig. 8, in the same manner'as does the slide plate 91, with the exception that the major axis of reciprocation of the slide plate 101 is at an angle of approximately 90 to the major axis of the slide plate 91. The slide plate 101 is normally urged in the direction indicated by the arrow by means of the coil spring 104 having one end affixed to a pin 105 in turn depending from the mounting plate 31. The other end is afiixed to a pin 106 depending from the slide plate 101. Obviously as the slide plate 101 is moved outwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 8 of the drawings, it moves towards the straight-sided slot 52 formed in the control plate 45 and positioned between the teeth 50. It will further be noted that the pin 100 is formed with straight inclined sides such as 107 and 108 which taper inwardly and outwardly so that the pin may be readily seated within the slot 52. When so seated, the merchandise wheel 40 is effectively locked against rotation. a

It is obvious that the locking of the merchandise wheel must be confined to the dispensing interval only, that is,

the interval when the trap door 67 is moved to its open position. To insure that the merchandise wheel is free to rotate during all other intervals when the trapdoor is closed, simple but effective mechanism is provided which will now be described.

This mechanism comprises a pin 109 (see Figs. 7 and 9 of the drawings) which is mounted in dependingrelationship from the bottom of the slide plate 101. This pin abuts the cross arm 79 which is mounted, on the.

trap door 67 and is positioned so that when the trap door is closed, the cross arm pressing against .the pin;

109 moves theslide plate 101 with the lock pin mounted thereon back to the non-locking positionshown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Conversely as the trap door is moved'to its open position, the cross bar 79 is moved away from the pin 109 thereby permitting the coil spring 104 to draw the slide plate 101 with the lock pin 100 to the closed position shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings. Thus the merchandise wheel is automatically locked during thedispensing interval only and is actuated by means of linkage directly associated with the trap door.

As a safeguard to protect the merchandise wheel actuating means (selecting knob 35, shaft 57, pinion 58, gear wheel 59, stub shaft 60 and sprocket wheel 61) against stripping during the dispensing interval; a clutch mechanism (not shown) may be associated with the actuating mechanism so that excessive force exerted on the actuating knob will be dissipated rather than transmitted to the sprocket wheel.

M 'erchandise; magazine housing As was previously stated, the merchandise is housed within an opaque storage globe 23 mounted above the transparent merchandise viewing housing 22; Again the merchandise globe 23 may be designed and shaped in whatever form desired; In'the embodiment chosen for illustration it will be noted in Fig. l of the drawings that the globe is tapered so that it flares upwardly and outwardly with its upper edges fitted preferably in water-tight relationship with a bottom flanged edge 109 of the cover 24. It will be further noted that an inwardlycurved wall 110 is integrally formed with the outer walls of the globe 23 and is positioned in spaced relationship behind the transpa'rentwindow 25. This curved wall comprises a retaining wall preventing the admission ofany articles of merchandise within the space 111 defined by the curved wall 110'and the transparent window 25. Thus as shown again in Fig. 9 of the drawings, the top of these merchandisecapsules C positioned in the three front slots may be viewed through the transparent window 25. Hence the customer is afiorded a better view of the merchandise which he intends to select.

Assembling means and locking all of the housing members of the machine together. Referring then to Fig. l of the drawings, it will be noted that the bottom wall 30 of the pedestal base is formed with a central upstanding boss 112 which is centrally apertured so that the headed bolt 113 may be positioned therethrough. The head 114 of the bolt is positioned so that it abuts the bottom of the bottom wall 30 with the shaft 115 protruding upwardly. The shaft 115 extends through the hollow standard 42 and through the central opening 41 formed in the merchandise wheel 40. Itextends up through the merchandise C in the globe 23 and is threaded into a centrally apertured boss 116 depending from a locking cap 117. The locking cap may be provided with a keyway adapted to receive a key for unlocking the cap 117 from the bolt 113. It should be noted that a cotter pin such as 118 may be positioned through a holeformed throughthe shaft 115 for holding i the article-of merchandise drops through the chute, it is retained within the chute by means of the. upwardly curved front segment '121' until the customer reaches through the opening 34 and removes the same.

"Although 'the merchandise illustrated in the drawings comprises novelty. charms packaged in transparent plastic capsules, it should be apparent that any type of piece .rnerchandise maybe dispensed by the machine. For example, unpackaged ball gum, confections, novelties and charms as well as packaged'merchandise lends itself admirably to dispensing by means of my machine.

Operation In operation the customer approaches the machine and views through the transparent housing 22, .as well as through the transparent window 25, the articles of merchandise displayed in the twelve slots 43 of the merchandise wheel 40. 1 He may grasp the selection knob 35 and rotate the merchandise wheel in either direction viewing the merchandise as it passes before him. When he has determined which article of merchandise he wishes to purchase, he rotates the wheel until the selected article of merchandise is positioned on the trap door 67 within the dispensing opening 65. It should be noted that as the merchandise wheel is rotated, the articles of merchandise successively drop slightly into the opening 65 but are prevented from being dispensed by the trap door 67. It should further be noted that the inclined edges 66 of the dispensing opening 65 facilitate the passage of the articles of merchandise thereover. As the wheel is rotated, the positioning pin 89 reciprocates in aradial direction sliding in and out on the inclined surfaces 51 of the teeth 50.

When the selected article of merchandise is properly positioned on the trap door 67 at the center of the opening 65, the customer deposits a coin into the coin slot 38 and then rotates the operating knob 36. This in turn rotates the sprocket wheel 87 so that the teeth 86 thereof engage the teeth 85 of the rack 83 thereby moving the trap door 67 towards the open position. As the trap door moves, the cross arm 79 likewise moves away from the pin 109 permitting the spring 104 to move the locking pin 100 to engage the slot 52 and thereby lock the merchandise wheel 40 against rotation. At the same time as the trap door 67 unblocks the dispensing opening 65, the article of merchandise C drops down through the chute 68 until it comes to rest at the arcuate bottom wall segment 120 of the chute. At the same time the coin drops down into the cash box 122.

When the dispensing is completed the trap door moves back to its closed position moving with it the cross bar 79 until it abuts the pin 109 and thereby moves the slide plate 101 with the lock pin 100 thereon out of engagement with the slot 52 thereby again releasing the merchandise wheel for further rotation.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a coin-controlled vending machine including a pedestal base, a dispensing chute and dispensing actuating means; a bulk merchandise storage member, a selective merchandise member positioned on said pedestal base and below said storage member, said selective merchandise member having a plurality of outwardly exposed individual compartments each adapted to receive at least one item of merchandise from said storage member, a transparent housing enclosing said selective merchandise member with at least the compartment disposed above the dispensing chute positioned in the line of sight through a wall of said transparent housing, said selective merchandise member mounted for movement in a fixed path to position any selected compartment over said dispensing chute, selecting means for freely moving the selective mechandise member so as to dispose said selected compartment over said dispensing chute, and means for disx10 pensing the merchandise from the selected compartment into said dispensing chute. i I

'2. The vending machine of claim 1 in which a mounting plate is positioned on said pedestal base, said selective merchandise member comprising a wheel rotatably mounted'on said mounting plate, spaced peripheral portions of said wheel formed with slots therein comprising said compartments. I

3. The vending machine of claim 2 in which said merchandise wheel is provided with a control disc, said control disc formed with a plurality of spaced apart depending sprocket teeth in the marginal peripheral edge thereof, a toothed spider formationhaving inclined teeth facing inwardly from said sprocket teeth, each of said teeth separated by a straight-sided slot and actuating means including a sprocket wheel having teeth adapted to engage the sprocket teeth of said controldisc for rotating said mer- I chandise wheel.

4. The vending machine ofclaim 2 characterized by a dispensing member, said member comprising a trap door slidably'mounted on the bottom surface ofsaid mounting plate, said trap door adapted to close an opening in said mounting plate when in its closed position and likewise movable to unblock said opening, said selected item of merchandise positioned in said opening and adapted to drop down through the dispensing chutefor dispensing thereof when the opening is unblocked.

5. The vending machine of claim .1 in which means for inactivating said selecting means during the dispensing interval is provided, said inactivating means comprising a slide plate mounted in reciprocable sliding relationship on the bottom surface of said mounting plate, said mounting plate formed with an elongated slot radially positioned above said slide plate, a locking pin mounted on said slide plate and protruding up through said slot, and means adapted to cooperate with said locking pin to prevent the activation of said selecting means during the dispensing interval.

6. The vending machine of claim 1 in which locator means for locating the selected compartment of said merchandise member in proper dispensing position is provided, said locator means comprising a slide plate mounted in reciprocable sliding relationship on the bottom of said mounting plate, said mounting plate formed with an elongated slot radially positioned above said slide plate, a positioning pin mounted on said slide plate and protruding up through said slot, and means adapted to cooperate with said positioning pin to locate the selected compartment in proper dispensing position.

7. The vending machine of claim 1 in which said selecting means comprises a shaft journaled through one of the walls of said housing, an actuating knob mounted on the outer end of said shaft and a ratchet wheel operatively connected to the inner end of said shaft, said ratchet wheel adapted to cooperate with said control disc to rotate said merchandise member in both directions.

8. The vending machine of claim 4 in which said dispensing actuating means comprises a coin mechanism mounted on a wall of said pedestal base housing, a shaft journaled through said coin mechanism and housing wall, an actuating handle mounted on the outer end of said shaft, a sprocket wheel mounted on the other end of said shaft, and a toothed rack mounted on said trap door, said sprocket wheel cooperating with the toothed rack for moving said trap door.

9. The vending machine of claim 4 in which locking means is provided to lock said merchandise wheel against rotation during the interval when the dispensing opening is unblocked, said means comprising a lock pin mounted on a slide plate, said slide plate mounted on said mounting plate in radially reciprocable relationship therewith, said slide plate having a pin depending therefrom, said door having a cross bar mounted therebelow, said cross bar abutting said pin thereby to move said lock pin in the closed direction of the door and against the action of an oppositely urging coiled spring.

IOTA, selective bulk" merchan'dise vending machine comprising in combination a four-sided pedestal base havinga separable-b'o'ttommernberand 'closed'at the top by a mounting plate; said mount'ing plate having adispensing Opening fortned therein one side of said" pedestal having a deliverychute"opening-formed therein, a hollow tubular standard projectingupwardlyyfrom said mounting plate, a peripherally slotted merchandise wheel rotatably mountedon'- saidstandard thI'OL'lgl'l fi' central opening formedther'e'through, saidwheel mounted for movement of'any'of said peripheral slots in a fixed path to position the "same-oversaid'dispensing' opening, a control disc affixed in the bottom of said-merchandise wheel, said control disc havinga plurality of'sp'aced ratchet teeth formed in themarginal-periphery of'the b'o'ttom'surface of said di's'c; a' plura'li'ty of inwardlyprojecting-teeth integrally formed with saidratchet teeth, said inwardly projecting teeth having inwardly converging sides with straight-Walled slots formed OnebetWe'en' each 'pair ofteeth, one of said teeth positioned in 'aligned'relationship witheach slot of said: merchandise wheel, atransparent merchandise viewing housing mountedw'on the 'mounting plate encircling said merchandise wheel so that said peripheral-slots are positioned in the line of'sight through said housing, an opaquebulk merchandise storage globepositioned' on said latter-mentioned housing; a'transparent window formed in said globe, a cover closingthe top end of-said globe, selecting-means adapted to cooperate'with said control 12 discifor, rotating said merchandise wheel so as to dispose any selected slot over said-dispensing opening, stop means for locking said merchandise Wheel against rotation during the dispensing interval and locating means for insuring proper positioning o f'the merchandise wheel for dispensing, and coin controlled means for dispensing the selected merchandise from the merchandise wheel into the delivery chute; I

11. The vending machine of claim 10 in which said sl'ectingmeanscomprises a shaft journaled' through a side ofsaid pedestalbase', anactuating knob affixed to the outer end "of said shaft, a pinion gearaflixed to the inner end of said shaft, aver gear mounted on the end of a stub shaft'in' meshing" relationship with said pinion gear, and a ratche't'wh'e'el monrited onthe oth'er'endof said shaftin cooperatingrelationship with the ratchet teeth of said control "disc whereby said merchandise wheel may be rotated in either daemon." v

Images