Newspaper Dispensing Machine

Charest , et al. August 22, 1

Patent Grant 3685691

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
1072051 September 1913 Staziak
2396411 March 1946 Cameron
487514 December 1892 Briggs
3104781 September 1963 Clift
2858047 October 1958 Williams et al.
3180518 April 1965 Roser
3103298 September 1963 Polster
2533932 December 1950 Hayek
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.

* * * * *


uspto.report is an independent third-party trademark research tool that is not affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or any other governmental organization. The information provided by uspto.report is based on publicly available data at the time of writing and is intended for informational purposes only.

While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the information displayed on this site. The use of this site is at your own risk. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

All official trademark data, including owner information, should be verified by visiting the official USPTO website at www.uspto.gov. This site is not intended to replace professional legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with a legal professional who is knowledgeable about trademark law.

© 2024 USPTO.report | Privacy Policy | Resources | RSS Feed of Trademarks | Trademark Filings Twitter Feed