The present invention relates to a coin-operated article dispenser of the kind in which the depositing of a coin in a slot in the dispenser enables a drawer mechanism to be pulled out to dispense an article.

If such a dispenser is to be used mounted on a wall, counter or bar to dispense cheap articles such as individual cigars, it is desirable to make the mechanism of the dispenser as simple as possible.

Previous attempts to provide a simple mechanism have included the use of a ratchet element, the teeth of which obstruct the opening of a drawer and which can be pushed out of the path of the drawer by a coin against the action of a return spring. The provision of the ratchet element and return spring increase the number of components in the system thereby increasing the cost and the possibility of failure of the mechanism.

According to a first aspect of the present invention a coin-operated article dispenser comprises a housing which contains a magazine for holding a store of the articles, a drawer which is slidable beneath the magazine and has a recess for receiving an article under gravity from the store, a slider which can be pulled forwards adjacent to, but independently of, the drawer, a coin chute for a designated denomination of coin and for directing the coin to a connecting position at which, with the drawer and slider retracted, the coin provides a connection between the slider and the drawer so that pulling the slider forwards carries the drawer with it to expose the recess outside the housing, whereupon the coin falls from its connecting position into a collection chamber.

As the connection between the slider and the drawer is provided by the coin, the drawer is released simply without the need for any further components.

Despite the need for a simple mechanism it is still important that the articles in the magazine do not become

jammed in such a way that the drawer is opened without on of the articles having fallen into the recess.

According to the second aspect of the presen invention a coin-operated article dispenser comprises housing which contains a magazine for holding a store o the articles, a drawer which is slidable beneath th magazine and which has a recess for receiving an articl under gravity from the store, and a coin-operated mechanis which is such that the depositing of a designate denomination of coin in a slot in the housing enables th drawer to be pulled forwards to expose the recess outsid the housing, wherein the magazine has a front or rear wal which is slidable in the upwards/downwards direction an which is cased to reciprocate in this direction to distur articles in the store when the drawer is moved upon dispensing an article.

This provides a simple mechanism for disturbing the articles in the magazine each time the drawer is opened and closed. An example of cigar dispenser constructed in accordance with both aspects of the present invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view; and, Fig. 2 is a sectional side view.

The dispenser has a housing 3 which may be mounted on bar counter, for example by means of a clamp mechanism, so as to be capable of being supervised by a barman but operated by a customer. The housing has a coin insertion slot 4 leading to a coin chute 5, which may incorporate a coin validation mechanism from which rejected coins are discharged through a slot 6. In the front of the housing 3 is window 7 through which there projects a handle 8 of a slider 9. The slider 9 rests on a fixed base plate 10 and supports a drawer 11 which is freely slidable on the slider 9. The drawer has in its upper face an elongate recess 12

to accommodate a single cigar 13 and a lateral row of recesses 14 to receive individual coins 15.

The housing incorporates a magazine 16 for a store 17 of cigars. The magazine is formed between a coin storage unit 18 and a front plate 19. The unit 18 incorporates a lateral array of tubular holders for stacks 20 of coins of different denominations, the individual holders being aligned with the recesses 14 in the drawer 11, when it is fully retracted. The plate 19 is guided at its vertical edges and is vertically slidable. When the drawer 11 is fully retracted, the plate drops onto the slider 9 in front of the drawer and prevents access to the drawer through the window 7.

In use the magazine 16 is loaded with a store 17 of individually wrapped cigars 13, either through a lid in the top of the housing 3 or after sliding forwards a shell consisting of at least the front, side and top walls of the housing. At the same time the tubular holders of the unit

18 are loaded with stacks of coin to be used as change. In the inoperative position the slider 9 and drawer 11 are fully pushed into the housing as shown in Figure 1. At this time one coin from each of the holders in the unit 18 will have fallen into the corresponding recess 14 in the top of the drawer 11 and one of the cigars 13 will have fallen from the store 17 into the recess 12. In order to dispense the cigar, a coin of appropriate denomination 21 will be inserted through the slot 4 and will fall down the chute 5. If it is properly validated, it will then drop into a slot 22 in the slider 9. Although the slot 22 is longer than the diameter of the coin, the coin will not fall through the slot 22 because it will be prevented from doing so by engagement with the upper surface of, or the edge of a slit in, the base plate 10. The coin will be positioned immediately behind the drawer 11, so that when the slider 9 is pulled forwards by its handle 8, the coin will engage the rear of the drawer and pull it forwards as well. At this time the inclined front edge 23 will engage

the lower edge of and raise the sliding plate 19 so that the drawer can pass under the plate. When the slider and drawer have been pulled fully forwards, the recesses 12 and 14 will be exposed in front of the housing, so that the cigar and change may be removed by the user. Of course, in the absence of the coin 21, pulling forwards of the slider 9 would not pull the drawer 11 out of the housing. Friction between the slider and drawer would be insufficient to do this owing to the retention of the drawer by the lower edge of the plate 19. As the slider and drawer reach their fully extended position, the coin 21 comes into alignment with a slot 24 in the base plate 10, the slot 24 being sufficiently large for the coin 21 then to fall through the slider and base plate into a collection chamber 25. This chamber may be emptied by the proprietor either through a door (not shown) or after removing the previously mentioned shell.

After dispensing, the slider 9 and drawer 11 are pushed back into the housing, whereupon the plate 19 drops down in front of the drawer ready for a new dispensing operation. The vertical reciprocation of the plate 19 will, frictionally, disturb the front cigars in the store 17, so that any tendency of their, for example, plastics film, wrappings to stick to one another, will be overcome, and a new cigar at the bottom of the store will fall into the recess 12.