It is well known that soft drinks and other beverages are often dispensed through "vending machines" which maintain a supply of cans, bottles, or other containers of the beverages to be dispensed. The invention herein will be described with respect to the dispensing of cans, although it will be appreciated that the concept of both the instant invention and the prior art are equally extendable to the vending of bottles, or other suitable containers.
In the prior art, a vending machine would typically house a plurality of vertical stacks of cans. These stacks would be defined between vertical slats having a dispensing mechanism disposed at the bottom thereof. The stacks have been known to take on various configurations, accommodating either a single array of cans lying on their side and in tangential contact with each other, or a double array of cans in similar arrangement. It has further been known that the slats can be extended in depth to accommodate a similar stack of cans behind the stack just described. The nature of the stack employed is typically a function of the popularity of the drink positioned within the stack.
The dispensing mechanism associated with each of the stacks is, of course, tailored to the stack configuration. Typically, the dispensing mechanism comprises a semi-cylindrical member positioned beneath the stack and adapted to receive a can from the stack and to rotate about an axis orthogonal to the axis of the stack to dispense the can therefrom. The cans are typically dispensed through openings provided in the side slats of the stacks. Of course, the particular configuration of the semicylindrical member and the openings in the slats are dependent upon the specific stack arrangement.
In the previously known prior art, as the semicylindrical member or trough was rotated in the dispensing cycle, the entire load of the stack of cans bore against it. Indeed, in the prior art the rotation of the dispensing mechanism would typically lift the entire stack an amount dependent upon the skewed nature of the cans within the stack to each other. In other words, the spacing of the slats would typically allow the cans to alternate from side to side within the stack, each can resting between a side slat and the can therebeneath. The staggering of the cans, resulting from the fact that the cans are not axially aligned with each other, causes each can as it is dispensed to roll against the can immediately above it, urging the entire stack upwardly. Accordingly, an exceptional amount of load is exerted upon the dispensing mechanism.
For the reasons presented above, the prior art has taught the implementation of heavy duty motors for rotating the semicylindrical dispensing troughs. Additionally, the type of motor employed has been a function of the specific nature of the stack with which it is associated. Obviously, the load imparted by a single stack of cans is substantially less than that imparted by double or quadruple stacks as described above. Cost savings therefore dictate that minimum motor size be employed for each of the associated stacks.
In the prior art described above, there is also an inordinate waste of space resulting from the need for a clearance between the sides of the cans and the stack slats. A drive motor is associated with each stack, such drive motor further adding to the cost of the machine and taking up space in the front section of the vender which could otherwise be employed by cans to be dispensed.
In the prior art, the loading of the stacks was also found to be a difficult proposition, since each can is entered into the stack at the point at which it will be maintained. The operator begins at the bottom of the stack and sequentially loads cans upwardly to the top thereof, making the loading process labor intensive. Additionally, the prior art just described has typically required a locking mechanism with the dispensing apparatus, the same adding to the cost and complexity of the system.