I SPIRAL DISPENSING MACHINES

The present invention relates to spiral dispensing machines.

Spiral dispensing machines are widely used for the dispensing of snack food items such as candy, savoury snacks and sandwiches. The machines generally comprise a cabinet having a window in a front wall thereof for viewing the products to be dispensed. The cabinet contains a number of shelves, and above each shelf is provided a row of dispensing spirals each having an axis substantially perpendicular to the front wall, and each spiral extending substantially from the back of each shelf to a front edge of the shelf. A plurality of articles are retained within the convolutions of each dispensing spiral. Typically, the given spiral will contain a plurality of articles of the same kind, and typically the spiral is initially loaded with one article in each convolution. One or more electric motors are operable selectively to rotate each dispensing spiral. The rotation of a spiral longitudinally advances the articles in that spiral towards the front of the shelf until the leading article reaches the front edge of the shelf. Upon further rotation of the spiral, the leading article is forced over the front edge of the shelf and falls into a discharge bin, from where it can be removed by the person operating the machine. Typically, rotation of a spiral through 360° is sufficient to dispense one article.

A dispensing failure mode that can occur with spiral dispensing machines is that the article being dispensed may fall forwards and become wedged between the dispensing spiral and the window. The problem may be addressed by leaving a larger gap between the front edge of each shelf and the front window of the machine. However, this reduces the total number of articles that can be loaded into a dispensing machine of given dimensions.

In another failure mode, the article being dispensed may fall into the interior of the spiral and become trapped in or on the spiral instead of dropping into the discharge bin. These failure modes are especially prevalent with flexible articles, for example bags or pouches.

The above failure modes are especially prevalent when there has been incorrect stocking of the dispensing spirals. Generally, a spiral dispenser will comprise a plurality of dispensing spirals having a plurality of different pitches (i.e. gaps between the convolutions of the spiral), and different diameters, for optimum dispensing of differently sized and shaped products. The spirals are generally located in troughs on the shelves, wherein the troughs are likewise dimensioned to optimise dispensing of particular products. Indicia are suitably provided to show which products are to be loaded into each spiral. However, the space available inside the machine for displaying such indicia is limited, and consequently the indicia are sometimes overlooked or ignored with the result that the wrong items are loaded into some or all of the spirals. If the article loaded into a given spiral is not the article for which that spiral was designed, i.e. if it has different dimensions, flexibility, or weight, then dispensing reliability will be reduced, and in extreme cases the dispensing may become highly unreliable.

US-A-3993215 describes a spiral dispensing mechanism wherein the forward end of the shelf is configured to form a notch, when viewed from above, with a forwardly projecting ledge at one side of the notch. The leading edge of the dispensing coil extends over the notch such that, during a dispensing cycle, the item tips sideways through the notch, instead of forwards over the front edge of the shelf.

US-A-4148412 describes an alternative solution to the first problem. The spiral dispensing machines according to this patent comprise a coil support apparatus which supports the front end of the dispensing coil above the general plane of the dispensing shelf. This is said to give positive and reliable forward-tipping dispensing of articles from the spiral.

US-B-6520373 describes spiral dispensing machines that are especially adapted for dispensing tall products, such as bottles of beverage. These products have a tendency to fall forward and become jammed against the front panel of the dispensing machine. The problem is overcome by providing a transverse bar extending across the width of the dispensing spiral and located above the dispensing spiral at a height slightly less than the height of the articles being dispensed. The transverse bar obstructs the top of the article and prevents it from tipping forward. The transverse bar may be U-shaped, with each

end thereof rotatably mounted to the dispenser, whereby the bar may initially rotate forward when the top of the product comes into contact with the bar, in order to provide more controlled dispensing of the product. The transverse bars are not suitable to control the dispensing of smaller articles, nor do they overcome the problems due to incorrect stocking of spirals.

GB-A- 1498525 describes a spiral dispensing machine comprising guide rods hanging downwardly from a transverse bar located above and just in front of the dispensing spirals. The guide rods may be flexible, or they may be hinged from the support bar so that they can swing outwardly during dispensing. The guide rods are intended to prevent articles from falling forward or tumbling during dispensing. The guide rods are not so effective to prevent articles from falling sideways and hanging on the end of the spiral. The guide rods also do not overcome the problems caused by incorrect stocking of the spirals.

The present inventors have devised an improvement to spiral dispensing machines that allows the above problems to be solved by simple adaptation of existing spiral dispensing equipment, and that further provides additional advantages.

The present invention provides a spiral dispensing machine comprising: a cabinet having a window in a front wall thereof; a dispensing spiral located inside the cabinet and oriented with its axis substantially perpendicular to the window; a support shelf for supporting articles retained within the convolutions of the dispensing spiral, said shelf having a front edge proximate to the window, over which the said articles can be driven by rotation of the dispensing spiral; and a dispensing bin for receiving dispensed articles that have been driven over the front edge of the shelf, wherein the dispensing machine further comprises a flap suspended in front of the dispensing spiral proximate to the front edge of the support shelf.

The flap may be formed from a flexible sheet material and/or it may pivot about an axis substantially above and parallel to the front edge of the support shelf. Suitably, the flap may pivot about an axis that is substantially horizontal. Suitably, the pivot axis is located above the top of the dispensing spiral, for example it may be from about lcm to

about 10cm above the top of the dispensing spiral. The pivot axis may be provided by a transverse bar from which the flap hangs.

The flap thereby applies just sufficient force to guide the article being dispensed to drop vertically over the edge of the dispensing shelf, without falling forward onto the front window, and also without falling over so that it hangs over the dispensing spiral instead of dropping into the dispensing bin.

The term "flap" herein refers to a sheet-like element having a width (when viewed in the dispensing direction) of at least about lcm, preferably at least about 2cm, and more preferably from about 4cm to about 20cm. Ln order to achieve the above effect, the dimensions of the flap are preferably at least comparable to the dimensions (when viewed in the dispensing direction) of the articles being dispensed. Suitably, the flap extends above the top of the dispensing spiral. Suitably, the bottom of the flap is located below the bottom of the dispensing spiral. Suitably, the height of the flap is at least equal to the diameter of the dispensing spiral, for example it may be from about 100% to about 250% of the diameter of the dispensing spiral. Suitably, the width of the flap is from about 50% to about 150% of the diameter of the dispensing spiral, for example about 80% to about 120% of said diameter. In certain embodiments, the flap substantially covers the front end of the dispensing spiral when viewed along the axis of the spiral.

Suitably, the flap hangs down substantially flush with the end of the dispensing spiral and/or with the front edge of the shelf (the end of the dispensing spiral is normally coterminous with the edge of the shelf).

The flap suitably comprises at least one transparent region for viewing an article retained within the convolutions of the dispensing spiral behind the flap. For example, the flap may comprise or consist essentially of transparent plastic sheet material. In this way, the operator of the dispensing machine can still see the articles to be dispensed, and in particular can see whether any articles remain in the spiral.

The flap may bear product information, for example trade marks or price information pertaining to articles to be dispensed by the spiral. That is to say, about articles for which the pitch and diameter of the spiral have been optimised for reliable dispensing- It is a further advantage of the present invention that the flaps provide a larger area for the display of such information than is conventionally present in existing spiral dispensing machines. Furthermore, this increased information display area can be achieved without significantly diminishing visibility of the products in the machine, and while achieving improved machine performance. The larger area for the display of product information promotes correct stocking of each dispensing spirals with the products for which the dimensions of that spiral have been optimised, thereby further promoting dispensing reliability. Preferably, at least part of the area of the flap is taken up by product information in order to promote correct stocking of the respective spiral, for example at least about 25% of the area of the flap may be taken up by the product information, for example at least about 50% of the area of the flap, and in some embodiments at least about 75% of the area of the flap. Suitably, the areas taken up with product information are not transparent. In some embodiments, substantially none of the flap is transparent.

The other features of the spiral dispensing machine according to the present invention may suitably be of conventional type. Indeed, it is an advantage of the present invention that the flaps can readily be retrofitted to existing equipment.

Thus, for example, the dispensing machine suitably further comprise static guide members on either side of the dispensing spiral to prevent articles retained in the convolutions of the spiral from falling sideways out of the spiral during storage or dispensing. The static guide members may, for example, be side walls extending upwardly from the base of the support shelf on either side of the dispensing spiral. Suitably, the machine comprises a plurality of dispensing spirals laterally spaced across the support shelf, with the axis of the spirals, substantially parallel, and preferably substantially perpendicular to the front window of the machine. Suitably, a corresponding plurality of flaps is suspended in front of each of the dispensing spirals proximate to the front edge of the support shelf. In these embodiments, the plurality of support flaps may be attached to a crossbar extending across and above the front edge of the support shelf, and preferably the support flaps are pivoted (hinged) about the

crossbar to permit the flaps to pivot independently away from the front edge of the shelf during dispensing.

Suitably, the machine comprises a plurality of the support shelves within the cabinet, in which case the support shelves are normally arranged one above the other in the cabinet. Suitably, the front of the cabinet can be opened, and the or each support shelf can then be pulled forward, whereby they can be pulled out of the cabinet for reloading of the spirals. Suitably, the flaps are attached to the shelf and are pulled out together with the shelf when the shelf is reloaded. This may be achieved, for example, by hanging the flap from a hinge, such as the crossbar described above, located above the front edge of the support shelf and attached to the support shelf. In this way, the front wall of the cabinet can be opened, and the support shelf can then be pulled forward with the flaps attached thereto for loading of articles into the convolutions of the spiral.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a front elevation view of a dispensing machine according to the present invention, with the front panel opened;

Figure 2 shows a partial perspective view of a single support shelf from the dispensing machine of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 shows a partial front elevation view of the support shelf and associated dispensing spirals and flaps of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 shows a partial side elevation view of the support shelf of Fig. 2; and

Figure 5 shows a partial bottom plan view of the dispensing spirals in the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 4.

Referring to Figure 1, the spiral dispensing machine 1 according to the present invention is of generally conventional design. The machine 1 comprises an outer housing 2 having

a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally disposed support shelves 3 slidably mounted therein. The dispensing machine 1 also has a front panel 5 mounted on hinges so that it can be opened as shown in Figure 1 for restocking of the machine. In use, the front panel 5 is normally locked in a closed position to cover the shelves. A window 7 is provided in the front panel to allow viewing of the machine contents by an operator. Keypad control means, and a coin and/or bank note validator are provided in a control unit 8 attached to the front panel. A discharge bin 9 is also attached to the front panel 5 to collect articles that have fallen under gravity from the front edges of the shelves 3 during dispensing. A door 10 in the front panel allows the user access to the discharge bin 9.

Each of the support shelves 3 is mounted on a suitable slide support or and/or rollers so that the shelf 3 can be pulled forward out of the housing 2 for loading articles into the convolutions of the spirals. At least some of the shelves 3 may be associated with additional structures allowing them to be tilted downwards after they have been pulled out of the housing, to ease the task of restocking. Suitable stops are provided to prevent complete removal of the shelves 3 from the housing 2.

Referring to Figs. 2 to 5, each of the support shelves 3 includes a plurality of laterally spaced and substantially parallel dispensing spirals 12. Each dispensing spiral 12 is in the form of an elongated, generally rigid helical dispensing coil of substantially constant pitch extending substantially from the back of the housing to the front edge of the dispensing shelf. The rear of each coil is rotatably fixed in a suitable bracket (not shown) attached to the back of the dispensing shelf, and is connected to a coupling (not shown) for linkage to an electric motor to rotate the coil in the dispensing direction.

Individual motors may be provided for each of the coils, or a smaller number of motors may be provided, in which case the motors are movable laterally and/or vertically to engage the respective coupling of different spirals in response to a dispensing command entered into the control unit 8. The design of the drive mechanism and couplings is conventional, and will not be described further.

Referring to Figures 2-5, the dispensing machines according to the present invention are characterised by the provision of a flap 14 suspended in front of each dispensing spiral

13. The flaps 14 are suspended from a crossbar 16 extending above and substantially parallel to the front edge 18 of the shelf 3, the crossbar 16 being attached to the shelf 3 by means of bracket 19. Specifically, each flap 13 is attached to a respective sleeve 20 that is rotatably journaled on the crossbar 16, whereby each flap 14 is independently free to rotate outwardly as the product is dispensed. The weight of the flap 14 provides just enough force on the product being dispensed to guide it vertically down into the dispensing bin without wedging against the window 7, and also without hanging over the leading end of the spiral 12.

Each flap 14 is formed from transparent plastic sheet material. The transparent flaps 14 enable the operator to see the leading article in each dispensing coil 12, and in particular to assess whether the dispensing spiral is empty. Furthermore, because the flaps 14 extend substantially above the dispensing spirals, there is room on an upper region 22 of the flaps to provide further product information, for example trade marks and price information.

The above embodiment has been described by way of example only. Many other embodiments falling within the scope of the accompanying claims will be apparent to the skilled reader.