U.S. patent number 3,685,691 [Application Number 05/074,304] was granted by the patent office on 1972-08-22 for newspaper dispensing machine.
Invention is credited to Andre Charest, Luc Charest.
United States Patent |
3,685,691 |
Charest , et al. |
August 22, 1972 |
NEWSPAPER DISPENSING MACHINE
Abstract
Newspaper dispensing and vending machine arranged to dispense
one newspaper at a time and constructed to be coin-operated. A
newspaper dispensing machine wherein the newspapers are placed side
by side in upright position forming a stack abutting at one end
against a newspaper extracting disc and at the opposite end against
a spring biased pressure plate. The extracting disc has a radially
extending opening and a pointed edge portion arranged to slip
between a first and a second newspapers, causing the former to pass
through the radially extending opening, resulting in extraction of
the first newspaper from the stack. A roller provided with one or
more prongs is mounted along the edge of the first newspaper to
bend the latter to assist slipping the pointed edge portion
intermediate the first and the second newspapers. A landing plate
portion is arranged to receive a newspaper extracted by the disc
and an ejecting mechanism is cooperatively associated to the
landing plate portion to eject a newspaper resting on the
latter.
Inventors: |
Charest; Andre (Montreal,
Quebec, CA), Charest; Luc (Ville d'Anjou, Quebec,
CA) |
Family
ID: |
22118866 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/074,304 |
Filed: |
September 22, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
221/225; 221/227;
221/231; 221/237 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F
11/045 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G07F
11/04 (20060101); B65h 001/08 (); B65h
003/32 () |
Field of
Search: |
;221/231,277,225,227,155,191,194,195,237 ;271/2,29 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Reeves; Robert B.
Assistant Examiner: Bartuska; Francis J.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A newspaper dispensing machine comprising a housing, support
means mounted inside said housing and arranged to hold a stack of
newspapers, a rotary newspaper extracting means rotatably mounted
inside said housing, driving means connected to said rotary
newspaper extracting means to rotate the latter, said rotary
newspaper extracting means having an edge portion adapted to engage
behind the first newspaper at one end of the stack, and said rotary
newspaper extracting means being provided with a guiding surface
adjoining said edge portion and constructed and arranged to
displace said first newspaper away from the stack upon rotation of
said rotary newspaper extracting means, whereby the first newspaper
is extracted from the stack for access thereto by an operator of
the machine, a landing means mounted inside said housing adjacent
said rotary newspaper extracting means and lower than the axis of
rotation thereof, such as to receive a newspaper extracted from
said stack, an opening through an outside wall of said housing, a
chute mounted inside said housing and extending downwardly from
said landing means to said opening, an ejecting mechanism mounted
inside said housing adjacent said landing means and arranged to
eject a newspaper resting on said landing means, said ejecting
mechanism comprising a shaft extending transversely of said chute
adjacent said landing means, fingers fixed transversely on said
shaft extending therefrom and adapted to engage a newspaper resting
on said landing means to eject the same into said chute, said
landing means having a plate provided with slots arranged to allow
passage of said fingers therethrough, a door pivotally mounted
inside said housing and arranged to effectively block passage in
the upward direction along said chute, a spring means connected to
said door to bias the latter upwardly, said shaft being provided
with an actuating arm extending transversely thereof in cooperation
with said door such as to sequentially engage and open the
latter.
2. A newspaper dispensing machine as defined in claim 1, wherein
said rotary newspaper extracting means comprises a disc mounted for
rotation about its axis and having a generally sector-shaped
opening therethrough, said disc is positioned adjacent said one end
of the stack of newspapers generally parallel to the newspapers to
form an abutment for said one end of the stack, and one edge of
said opening has a pointed portion forming said edge portion.
3. A newspaper dispensing machine as defined in claim 2, further
comprising a newspaper bending mechanism constructed and arranged
to displace a portion of said first newspaper into the path of said
edge portion, said newspaper bending mechanism comprising a roller
mounted along one edge of said first newspaper and provided with
projections adapted to engage said first newspaper to displace a
portion thereof away from the stack into said sector-shaped
opening, such that upon rotation of said disc, the pointed portion
engages behind said first newspaper.
4. A newspaper dispensing machine comprising a housing, support
means mounted inside said housing and arranged to hold a stack of
newspapers, a rotary newspaper extracting means rotatably mounted
inside said housing, driving means connected to said rotary
newspaper extracting means to rotate the latter, said rotary
newspaper extracting means having an edge portion adapted to engage
behind the first newspaper at one end of the stack, and said rotary
newspaper extracting means being provided with a guiding surface
adjoining said edge portion and constructed and arranged to
displace said first newspaper away from the stack upon rotation of
said rotary newspaper extracting means, whereby the first newspaper
is extracted from the stack for access thereto by an operator of
the machine, said rotary newspaper extracting means comprising a
disc mounted for rotation about its axis and having a radially
extending slot with one edge of the latter defining said edge
portion, said disc is positioned adjacent said one end of the stack
of newspapers generally parallel to the latter such that one side
of the disc defines an abutment for said one end of the stack, a
newspaper ejecting means comprising an element mounted on said disc
for rotation therewith adjacent said axis and constructed and
arranged to support a newspaper on the other side of the disc with
respect to said one side whereby a newspaper extracted from the
stack is engaged and supported by said element.
5. A newspaper dispensing machine as defined in claim 4, wherein
said radially extending slot is generally sector-shaped defining
said one edge and another edge diverging from each other generally
radially with respect to said axis, and said element defines a
spiral form concentric with said axis having one end fixed to said
another edge, said spiral form extending less than one turn around
said axis in a direction from said another edge, across said slot,
toward and passed said one edge whereby the other end of the spiral
form is spaced from said other side of the disc a distance
sufficient to receive a newspaper between said other side and said
other end.
6. A newspaper dispensing machine as defined in claim 5, wherein
said housing is provided with a dispensing opening extending
therethrough lower than said spiral form and a chute is mounted
inside said housing and extends downwardly from under said spiral
form to said dispensing opening whereby a newspaper can slide down
said chute to be accessible through said dispensing opening.
7. A newspaper dispensing machine as defined in claim 4, further
comprising a newspaper bending mechanism constructed and arranged
to displace a portion of said newspaper into the path of said edge
portion, said newspaper bending mechanism comprising a roller
mounted along one edge of said first newspaper and provided with
projections adapted to engage said first newspaper to displace a
portion thereof away from the stack into said sector-shaped
opening, such that upon rotation of said disc, the pointed portion
engages behind said first newspaper.
8. A newspaper dispensing machine as defined in claim 5, further
comprising a newspaper bending mechanism constructed and arranged
to displace a portion of said newspaper into the path of said edge
portion, said newspaper bending mechanism comprising a roller
mounted along one edge of said first newspaper and provided with
projections adapted to engage said first newspaper to displace a
portion thereof away from the stack into said sector-shaped
opening, such that upon rotation of said disc, the pointed portion
engages behind said first newspaper.
9. A newspaper dispensing machine as defined in claim 6, further
comprising a newspaper bending mechanism constructed and arranged
to displace a portion of said newspaper into the path of said edge
portion, said newspaper bending mechanism comprising a roller
mounted along one edge of said first newspaper and provided with
projections adapted to engage said first newspaper to displace a
portion thereof away from the stack into said sector-shaped
opening, such that upon rotation of said disc, the pointed portion
engages behind said first newspaper.
Description
This invention relates to dispensing machines and, more
particularly, to newspaper dispensing and vending machines.
Many different concepts of newspaper dispensing machines have been
proposed up to now. The present invention is base on a further
different concept wherein a rotating disc having a radially
extending opening and a pointed edge portion is arranged to extract
one newspaper at a time from a stack of newspapers.
A main object of the invention is to provide newspaper dispensing
machine which is arranged to positively dispense one newspaper at a
time.
Another object of the invention is to provide a newspaper
dispensing machine which clearly indicates to potential buyers that
the machine is empty.
A further object of the invention is to provide a newspaper
dispensing machine with a positive ejecting mechanism to minimize
the risk of faulty dispensing.
The present invention defines a newspaper dispensing machine
comprising a housing, support means mounted inside said housing and
arranged to hold a stack of newspapers, a rotary newspaper
extracting means rotatably mounted inside said housing, driving
means connected to said rotary newspaper extracting means to rotate
the latter, said rotary newspaper extracting means having an edge
portion adapted to engage behind the first newspaper at one end of
the stack, and said rotary newspaper extracting means being
provided with a guiding surface adjoining said edge portion and
constructed and arranged to displace said first newspaper away from
the stack upon rotation of said rotary newspaper extracting means,
whereby the first newspaper is extracted from the stack for access
thereto by an operator of the machine.
The invention will now be described by way of example only with
reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying
drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of a newspaper
dispensing and vending machine according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view, partly in cross-section of the machine,
shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view as seen in the direction
of the arrows along line 3--3 in FIG. 5;
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view as seen in the direction
of the arrows along line 4--4 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view as seen in the direction
of the arrows along line 5--5 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a partial view in cross-section as seen in the direction
of the arrows along line 6--6 in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a partial view in cross-section as seen in the direction
of the arrows along line 7--7 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is a partial view in cross-section as seen in the direction
of the arrows along line 8--8 in FIG. 2;
FIGS. 9 and 10 are elevation views and
FIGS. 9a and 10a are top views illustrating the operation of the
extracting disc;
FIGS. 11 to 15 inclusive are partial views of the newspaper
ejecting mechanism shown in FIG. 2, illustrating the sequence of
operation thereof;
FIG. 16 is a front view of a second embodiment of a newspaper
dispensing and vending machine according to the invention;
FIG. 17 is a side view, partly in cross section, of the machine
shown in FIG. 16;
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view as seen in the direction of the
arrows along line 18--18 in FIG. 17;
FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view as seen in the direction of the
arrows along 19--19 in FIG. 17;
FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view as seen in the direction of the
arrows along line 20--20 in FIG. 16;
FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view as seen in the direction of the
arrows along line 21--21 in FIG. 20;
FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 21 with the moving
parts in an operative position;
FIG. 23 is a view as seen in the direction of the arrows along line
23--23 in FIG. 22;
FIGS. 24, 25 and 26 are front views of the newspaper extracting
disc shown respectively in three different positions of
operation;
FIGS. 27, 28 and 29 are side views of the extracting disc shown
respectively in three different positions of operation;
FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional side view of the machine illustrated
in FIG. 16 in position for reloading; and
FIG. 31 is a cross-section on line 31--31 of FIG. 30.
The same reference numerals will be used to identified the similar
parts in both embodiments of the invention.
The first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 15 inclusive
comprises a housing having a bottom wall 1, a back wall 2, a front
wall 3, side walls 4 and 5 and a pivoted cover 6. Four legs 7, for
instance of angle pieces of metal, such as angle iron pieces, are
fixed to the housing to support the latter. A bearing plate 8 is
fixed, as by welding, to the lower end of each leg 7 to provide
sufficient ground bearing for the dispensing machine. An aperture 9
is provided in the front wall 3 and a frame 10 is fixed around the
aperture 9 and surrounds the latter on the inner face of the front
wall 3. A glass plate 11 is fixed to the frame 10 and forms
therewith a window to see inside the housing. Rods 12 are fixed to
the frame 10 across the opening defined by the latter to prevent
unauthorized access inside the housing through the window. A
dispensing slot 13 is provided into the front panel 3 along the
lower edge thereof to allow access to an ejected newspaper.
A pair of upstanding support plates 14 extend transversely inside
the housing to form a support for a newspaper magazine. The latter
comprises a bottom panel or plate 15, a rear panel 16 and a pair of
side panels 17 and 18. The front edge of each side panels 17 and 18
has a cutout 19 for a purpose to be better understood later. The
side panels 17 and 18 are preferably provided with longitudinal
ridges embossed or otherwise formed on the inner side thereof. A
slot 20 extends from front to rear through each panel 17 or 18. A
pressure plate 21 is mounted in upright position within the
magazine and extends transversely relative to the panels 17 and 18
intermediate the abovementioned ridges. A plate 22 is fixed on each
side of the pressure plate 21 and projects laterally therefrom such
as to engage into one of the slots 20 to slidably support the
pressure plate 21 for reciprocating movement inside the magazine. A
pulley 23 is rotatably mounted on the outer side of each panel 17
or 18. A cable 24 is attached to each plate 22 outside the
newspaper magazine. Each cable 24 passes around the corresponding
pulley 23 and is attached at its lower end to one end of a spring
25, the latter having its opposite end attached to the rear support
plate 14 such as to bias the pressure plate 21 forwardly. Each
cable 24 extends rearwardly of the plate 22, passes around another
pulley 26, also rotatably mounted on the outer face of a panel 17
or 18, and is attached to the pivoted cover 6 such that, upon
opening of the latter, the pressure plate will slide rearwardly to
provide space for loading the newspaper magazine.
A shaft 27 is rotatably mounted through the support plates 14. A
disc 28 is fixed on the front end of the shaft 27 for rotation
therewith. The disc 28 has a generally sector-shaped opening 29
defining a pointed edge portion 30. The disc 28 and the pressure
plate 21 form abutments for the ends of a stack of newspapers, as
can be seen in FIG. 2.
A drum or roller 31 is fixed to an upright shaft 32 such as to
extend substantially tangentially to one upright edge of the first
newspaper of the stack standing against the disc 28. One or more
prongs 33 are attached to the roller 31 and extend radially thereof
generally in a common plane passing through the axis of the roller
31. At least one prong 33 and the disc 28 cooperate to extract the
first newspaper from the stack.
A plate 34 extends downwardly from below the axis of the disc 28 to
the slot 13 and thereby defines an inclined chute for an extracted
newspaper. An intermediate portion 35 of the chute 34 is generally
horizontal or slightly inclined rearwardly to define a landing
plate portion adapted to receive a newspaper extracted from the
newspaper magazine. One or more upwardly extending slots 36 are
provided through the chute 34 for a purpose to be better defined
later.
A door 37 is pivotally mounted by hinges 38 on the inner surface of
the front wall 3. The door 37 has a triangular end plate 39 at one
end thereof and a flange 40 along the free radial edge of the end
plate 39 for a purpose to be better defined later. The triangular
end plate 39 extends from the hinge 38 towards the chute 34 a
distance such as to engage the latter to limit the inward swinging
movement of the door. A spring 41 is connected at one end to a
bracket 42 extending from the inner surface of the side wall 4 and
at its other end to the door 37 to bias the latter inwardly into
engagement with the chute 34.
A newspaper ejecting mechanism will now be described in particular
relation to FIG. 8. A shaft 43 extends transversely inside the
housing of the dispensing machine under the landing plate portion
35. The shaft 43 is rotatably supported by a bracket 44 fixed
inside the housing and by the side wall 4. For each slot 36 there
is provided a finger 45 fixed to the shaft 43 and extending
radially therefrom such as to sequentially engage into the
corresponding slot 36 upon rotation of the shaft 43. A sector 46 is
fixed onto the shaft 43 and is arranged relative to the latter such
as to engage the flange 40 carried by the door 37. It can therefore
be seen that the sector 46 is used as a cam to open the door 37
against the bias of the spring 41.
With particular reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive, there will now
be described the driving elements provided to rotate the
above-mentioned shafts 27, 32 and 43. Obviously, other driving
elements could be used as well. A handle 47 is fixed to a short
shaft 48 rotatably extending through the front wall 3. A shaft 49
is rotatably mounted on a bracket 50 fixed against the outer
surface of the side panel 18 of the newspaper magazine. A gear 51
is fixed on the inner end of the short shaft 48 for rotation
therewith and a gear 52 is fixed on the shaft 49 in meshing
engagement with the gear 51 to transmit the rotation of the handle
47 to the shaft 49. A shaft 53 is mounted parallel to the shaft 49
underneath the latter. A sprocket wheel 54 is fixed onto the rear
end of each shaft 27, 49, 53 and a chain 55 passes around the three
sprocket wheels 54 to transmit rotation form the shaft 49 to the
shafts 27 and 53. The shaft 53 is mounted in a bracket 56 fixed
inside the housing. A bevel gear 57 is fixed onto the front end of
the shaft 53 in meshing engagement with a bevel gear 58 fixed on
the upright shaft 32 for rotation therewith. Another bevel gear 59
is fixed on the shaft 53 in meshing engagement with a bevel gear 60
to transmit rotation to the latter which is rotatably mounted on a
stub shaft 61 extending laterally from the bracket 44. A sprocket
wheel 62 is coupled to the bevel gear 60 to rotate therewith. A
further sprocket wheel 63 is fixed onto the shaft 43 for rotation
therewith and a chain 64 passes around the sprocket wheels 62 and
63 to transmit rotation from the bevel gear 60 to the shaft 43. A
ratchet wheel 65 is fixed to the shaft 49 (see also FIG. 31) for
rotation therewith and a pawl 66 biased by a spring 66" is
pivotally mounted on a support 66' secured to bracket 50 and
cooperates with the ratchet wheel 65 to prevent rotation of the
shaft 49 in clockwise direction, as seen from the front of the
housing.
To form a vending machine, the driving elements of the dispensing
mechanism are coupled to a coin collector 67, as will now be
explained in detail. A lever arm 68 is fixed to the shaft 49 for
rotation therewith. A lever arm 69 is similarily fixed to a shaft
70 of the coin collector 67 and a link 71 pivotally joins the free
ends of the lever arms 68 and 69 such as to transmit movement from
the shaft 49 to the shaft 70 upon release of the latter on
insertion of the right coinage into the coin collector 67. As is
well known in the art, a pair of coin slots 72 are provided on the
front wall 3 of the housing, one slot 72 being larger than the
other to accommodate a larger coin. A coin chute, not shown, leads
from each coin slot 72 to the coin collector 67. A coin holding box
73 is provided to store the coins until their collection by the
vendor.
A lock 74, of any well known type, is mounted on the front panel 3
and is arranged to lock the pivoted cover 6 in closed position. A
newspaper catching rack 75 is fixed along the bottom edge of the
dispensing slot 13 to prevent a newspaper coming down the chute 34
from falling off on the ground or floor. A wire or rod 76 is fixed
transversely inside the housing in spaced relationship along the
newspaper extracting disc 28 in front of the latter.
The pressure plate 21 in its corner adjacent the roller 31 is
provided with a notch or cutout, now shown, to allow unhindered
sliding of the pressure plate right up to the extracting disc 28
without disturbing the rotation of the drum or roller 31.
Before proceeding with a detailed explanation of the operation of
the machine illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 15 inclusive, it must be
stated that the handle 47 is at all time restrained against
rotation in counterclockwise direction by the action of the pawl 66
and the ratchet 65 on the shaft 49, which is positively coupled to
the handle 47 by the gears 51 and 52. Upon insertion of the right
coinage into one of the slots 72 and the entry of the coinage into
the coin collector 67, the shaft 71 is released for rotation,
thereby freeing the shaft 49 and the handle 47 for rotation of the
latter in clockwise direction. The rotation of the handle causes
counterclockwise rotation of the shaft 49 and through the chain 55
of the shafts 27, 49 and 53. The newspaper extracting disc 28 is
thereby caused to also rotate in counterclockwise direction. Such
rotation of the shaft 53 transmits counterclockwise rotation to the
roller or drum 31 when seen from above, as in FIGS. 4, 9a and 10a.
If one or more newspaper are then in the newspaper magazine, a
prong 33 engages one edge of the first newspaper adjacent the disc
28 and bends the adjacent edge portion thereof, as shown in FIG. 9a
which corresponds approximately to a 30.degree. rotation of the
disc 28 and prong 33. Upon further rotation, the pointed edge
portion of the newspaper extracting disc 28 slips behind the first
newspaper of the stack, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 10a
corresponding substantially to a 60.degree. rotation. Further
rotation of the prong 33 will result in disengagement of the latter
from the edge of the first newspaper which is engaged by the
extracting disc 28. Upon further rotation, the disc portion
adjoining the pointed edge portion forms a guide surface which
causes the engaged newspaper to gradually move to the front of the
extracting disc 28, thereby extracting the first newspaper from the
stack. The wire or rod 76 serves to retain in upright position a
newspaper being extracted by the disc 28 and/or a newspaper
standing on the landing plate portion 35 of the chute 34. When the
first newspaper has been fully extracted from the stack behind the
disc 28, it is allowed to drop onto the landing plate portion 35
where it stands upright, being retained between the wire 76 and the
disc 28. When a full turn of the handle 47 has been completed, the
driving elements lock in the rest position by the action of the
coil collector 67 until another coin is inserted into the latter.
Therefore, it will be appreciated that the action of a prong 33 and
the disc 28 merely extracts the first newspaper at the front of the
stack and allows it to drop onto the landing plate portion 35.
The dispensing operation proper is produced by the aforedescribed
ejecting mechanism, the operation of which will now be defined in
detail. In order to dispense a newspaper, the latter must rest on
the landing plate portion 35 upon the start of the rotation of the
handle 47. When the latter is in the rest position, the door 37 is
closing the chute 34 under the bias of the spring 41. When the
handle 47 is rotated in clockwise rotation, as explained above, the
resulting counterclockwise rotation of the shaft 53 causes
counterclockwise rotation of the shaft 43, as seen in FIGS. 11 to
15 inclusive. The sector 46 and the fingers 45 are hence rotated
counterclockwise with the shaft 43. After about 90.degree. rotation
of the sector 46 and fingers 45, as shown in FIG. 12, the newspaper
on the landing plate portion 35 is barely engaged by the fingers
45. After about 180.degree. rotation, as shown in FIG. 13, the
fingers 45 have pushed the lower edge of the newspaper towards the
front in alignment with the door 37, and the sector 46 barely
engages the latter. Upon further rotation of the sector 46, the
latter acts as a cam and opens the door 37 against the bias of the
spring 41 whereby the newspaper which was on the landing plate
portion, is ejected and dispensed by sliding down the chute 34 for
access thereto.
It must be noted that both the extracting of the first newspaper of
the stack and the ejection of a newspaper standing on the landing
plate portion are simultaneous operations as long as there is one
newspaper on the landing plate portion 35 and at least one
newspaper in the newspaper magazine. It therefore results that,
when the machine is loaded, one newspaper mast be placed on the
landing plate portion before the start of the vending operation to
prevent the first buyer from losing his coin by merely getting
extraction of a newspaper without dispensing of one. The last
newspaper of a stack is sold by normal operation of the machine,
after what both the newspaper magazine and the landing plate
portion are empty. This empty state of the machine is indicated by
the word EMPTY, marked on the front surface of the chute 34, which
is then visible through the window of the machine, as can be seen
in FIG. 1.
The loading of the newspaper magazine is done by unlocking and
opening the cover 6. The opening movement of the cover 6 causes the
cables 24 to pull the pressure plate 21 rearwardly against the bias
of the springs 25, thereby producing a space inside the newspaper
magazine for a stack of newspapers.
The second embodiment of the invention will now be described in
details with reference to FIGS. 16 to 31 inclusive.
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment as far as a
different newspaper ejecting mechanism is embodied into the
machine. Therefore, all the other elements are similar in both
embodiments and are identified by the same reference numerals.
The newspaper ejecting device in the second embodiment comprises a
plate 77 having the general configuration of a half circle. The
plate 77 has one edge welded to the straight edge 78 defined by the
sector-shaped opening 29. The plate 77 is formed into a spiral
concentric with the axis of the disc 28 and extending from the edge
78 toward and passed the curved edge 79 and terminating by a
forwardly bent sector portion 80 positioned substantially
diametrically with respect to the one edge welded to the edge 78.
The sector portion 80 is spaced from the front side of the disc 28
sufficiently to define a recess for a newspaper between the front
of the disc 28 and the sector portion 80. A newspaper inserted into
the above-defined recess is supported by the plate 77 and the wire
76 on the bottom 77' of said recess.
The chute 34 in the second embodiment extends smoothly from under
the plate 77 down to the slot 13 such that a newspaper released or
ejected by the newspaper ejecting spiral 77 will slide freely down
the chute 34 to become accessible to the operator through the slot
13. It will be understood that the newspaper ejecting spiral 77 is
fixed to the newspaper extracting disc 28 for bodily rotation
therewith. Therefore, the driving links 59, 60, 61, 62, 63 and 64
of the first embodiment are not used in the second embodiment.
The second embodiment operates exactly as the first embodiment for
the loading of the machine and the extraction of a newspaper since
the parts involved are similar in both machines. In order to eject
or dispense a newspaper, one must be supported between the
newspaper ejecting spiral 77 and the front side of the extracting
disc 28. FIGS. 16, 18, 19 and 24 show the position of the disc 28
and the spiral 77 before the start of a dispensing cycle with a
newspaper supported by the spiral 77. When one newspaper is so
supported by the newspaper ejecting spiral 77, the ejecting
operation proceeds as follows. As in the first embodiment, rotation
of the handle 47 results in counterclockwise rotation of the
newspaper extracting disc 28. When the disc 28 and the spiral 77
have reached about the angular position illustrated in FIGS. 25 and
28, that is after a rotation of about 110.degree., the newspaper is
released and dropped onto the chute 34. After a rotation of about
135.degree., the pointed edge portion 30 engages behind the first
newspaper then in the stack to gradually move the same in front of
the disc. As the rotation proceeds further, the spiral 77 rotates
such that the gap between the latter and the disc 28 widens until
the spiral adopts the position of FIGS. 16, 18 19 and 24. FIGS. 27
and 29 show right side views of the disc and spiral in intermediate
positions between the positions of FIGS. 26 and 24 when the gap is
widening to support the newspaper which has been extracted during
the same turn of the disc. It can be realized, by comparing FIGS.
25 and 26, that the newspaper originally supported by the spiral at
the start of the rotation is ejected, FIG. 25, before a next one
starts to be extracted form the stack, FIG. 26.
It is pointed out that the disc 28 in the second embodiment has a
starting position which is one-fourth turn behind the starting
position of the same disc in the first embodiment to allow for
ejection of a newspaper before another one starts to be
extracted.
* * * * *