Vending machine including refrigeration and oven compartments

• US 5,772,072 A
• Filed: 04/01/1996
• Issued: 06/30/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: KRH Thermal Systems
• Original Assignee: KRH Thermal Systems
• Inventors: Morrison, Donald, Prescott, Jack R., Elliott, Gregory, Rudewicz, Paul T., Rudder, Michael E., Kanyon, Michael, Sineri, Kenneth, Arai, Stanley, Smead, John D., Weber, Dale, Durbin, Edward, Bradfield, James W., Hopkins, Mark A., Thomas, Thom
• Primary Examiner(s): SKAGGS JR, H GRANT
• Application Number:
  US08/626,301
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 53/567, 53/459, 221/119, 221/121, 221/122, 221/150 HC, 221/150 A, 221/224, 221/225, 221/113, 221/211, 221/298
• US Class Current: 221/121
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/04 in which magazines the articles are stored one vertically above the other
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/54 about vertical axes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0078 Food articles which need to be processed for dispensing in a hot or cooked condition, e.g. popcorn, nuts
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/105 Heating or cooling means, for temperature and humidity control, for the conditioning of articles and their storage dispensers for food articles requiring a processing by temperature treatment or conditioning before they are ready for dispensing G07F17/0064
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/808 Microwave heating adapted for vending machines

Abstract

A vending machine includes a refrigeration compartment, an oven compartment, structure for transferring a food product from the refrigeration compartment to the oven compartment, and structure for transferring the food product from the oven compartment to a user of the vending machine. The vending machine provides automated handling and cooking of packaged food products that enables a hot cooked food to be delivered to a customer in a cool package sleeve. The vending machine also includes a system for inventory control that enables vertical storage of packaged food products while minimizing crushing of packaged food products at the bottom of a stack. A magazine empty indicator automatically indicates when an inventory magazine is empty. An oven door latch mechanism eliminates the possibility that the oven can be operated while the oven door is open.

Claims

1. A vending machine comprising an inventory carousel mounted rotatably on a vertical axis, the inventory carousel including a plurality of inventory magazines mounted around the vertical axis, each inventory magazine comprising a product chute and having a product release mechanism for releasing product contained in the inventory magazine, said product release mechanism comprising:

an inventory magazine release member having first and second cam surfaces, the inventory magazine release member movable between first and second positions;

a first retention lever rotatably mounted so as to pivot about a first axis, the first retention lever including a first cam follower in contact with the first cam surface, wherein;

when the inventory magazine release member is positioned in the first position, contact between the first cam surface and first cam follower causes the first retention lever to be retracted from the product chute; and

when the inventory magazine release member is positioned in the second position, contact between the first cam surface and first cam follower causes the first retention lever to be extended into the product chute; and

a second retention lever rotatably mounted so as to pivot about a second axis, the second retention lever including a second cam follower in contact with the second cam surface, wherein;

when the inventory magazine release member is positioned in the first position, contact between the second cam surface and second cam follower causes the second retention lever to be extended into the product chute; and

when the inventory magazine release member is positioned in the second position, contact between the second cam surface and second cam follower causes the second retention lever to be retracted from the product chute.

2. The vending machine of claim 1 wherein the inventory carousel is mounted above a floor, a food delivery aperture being located in the floor at a position such that the inventory magazines pass over the food delivery aperture as the inventory carousel is rotated about the vertical axis.

3. The vending machine of claim 2 wherein the inventory carousel is mounted within a refrigeration compartment.

4. The vending machine of claim 2 wherein each of the inventory magazines is capable of holding a stack of packaged food products.

5. A combination including the vending machine of claim 4 and a stack of packaged food products held in each of the inventory magazines, wherein each of the packaged food products comprises a product tray.

6. The vending machine of claim 2 further comprising a delivery tray for receiving a packaged food product after the packaged food product falls from one of the inventory magazines through the food delivery aperture.

7. A combination including the vending machine of claim 6 and a packaged food product positioned in said delivery tray, wherein the packaged food product comprises a product tray positioned within a sleeve and wherein the vending machine further comprises a sleeve/de-sleeve mechanism for removing the product tray from the sleeve and replacing the product within the sleeve.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein the vending machine further comprises an oven.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein the sleeve/de-sleeve mechanism removes the product tray from the sleeve and moves the product tray into the oven.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein the sleeve/de-sleeve mechanism removes the product tray from the oven and replaces the product tray within the sleeve.

11. The combination of claim 8 wherein the oven comprises an oven door and a microwave generator and a door interlock mechanism for preventing the microwave generator from operating when the oven door is not fully closed.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the vending machine further comprises a transfer mechanism for moving the packaged food product from a position below the delivery aperture to a position adjacent the sleeve/de-sleeve mechanism.

13. The combination of claim 12 wherein the transfer mechanism moves the packaged food product from the position adjacent the sleeve/de-sleeve mechanism to a delivery chute.

14. The vending machine of claim 1 further comprising:

a motor for rotating the inventory carousel; and

a modified Geneva drive mechanism for transferring rotational movement from the motor to the inventory carousel, the drive mechanism comprising a cloverleaf-shaped output turret and a rotatable input member having a pair of drive pins, the drive pins being positioned on opposite sides of a leaf of the cloverleaf-shaped output turret when an inventory magazine in the inventory carousel is located above a product delivery aperture.

15. The vending machine of claim 14 wherein the pins are positioned on opposite sides of a first leaf when the output turret is in a first index position and on opposite sides of a second leaf adjacent to the first leaf when the output turret is in a second index position, the input disk rotating 180 degrees in driving the output turret between the first and second index positions.

16. The vending machine of claim 1 further comprising a magazine actuator for actuating any one of said product release mechanisms.

17. The vending machine of claim 1 wherein said inventory magazine release member comprises a pair of inventory magazine release rods which are positioned adjacent opposite sides of said product chute.

18. The vending machine of claim 17 wherein said inventory magazine release rods are joined by a cross bar at a top of said inventory magazine.

19. The vending machine of claim 17 wherein said inventory magazine release rods are mechanically coupled to an inventory magazine lift for alternately raising and lowering said inventory magazine release rods.

20. The vending machine of claim 19 wherein said inventory magazine lift comprises a crank.

21. A vending machine comprising a sleeve/de-sleeve mechanism for removing a food tray from a sleeve enclosing the food tray, the sleeve/de-sleeve mechanism comprising:

a support for the food tray and sleeve;

a ram positioned adjacent an open end of the sleeve;

an actuator for moving the ram such that a leading end of the ram projects into the sleeve, thereby pushing the food tray from the sleeve; and

a hook for engaging an edge of the sleeve and thereby retaining the sleeve on the support when the food tray is pushed from the sleeve.

22. The vending machine of claim 21 wherein the actuator includes a motor and a rack and pinion.

23. A vending machine comprising:

a refrigeration compartment including a product delivery door in a floor of the refrigeration compartment;

an inventory carousel rotatably mounted in the refrigeration compartment and including a plurality of inventory magazines;

a plurality of packaged food products stacked in each inventory magazine, each of the packaged food products including a food tray enclosed by a sleeve;

a microwave oven;

a transfer mechanism for moving one of the packaged food products to a first position near a door of the microwave oven and to a second position near a delivery chute;

a ram;

an actuator for moving the ram so as to push a food tray from a sleeve into the oven; and

a hook for engaging an edge of the sleeve and thereby restraining the sleeve when the food tray is pushed from the sleeve into the oven.