Over the years, there has been a move by service station operations away from dispensing oil from bulk containers to pre-packs. This development is part of the modernisation of service station forecourts. While not being dispensed in such high volumes as petrol, the supply of oil to customers is still an integral part of the operation of a service station.

One of the problems associated with pre-packs of oil and the normal location of the pre-packed oil on an open rack, trolley etc. on the forecourt is that it is susceptible to theft and other forms of loss. For example, the non payment of pre- packed oil can result simply from a forecourt attendant not making the till operator aware of the"purchase"of the oil and the purchaser simply not being aware that the purchase has not been charged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is therefore to provide dispensing apparatus for the secure dispensing of pre-packed liquid products, such as oil.

Broadly in one aspect of the invention there is provided a dispensing apparatus including a pair of movable elements with which a lowermost of a stack of unitary items is engageable, first support means to support said lowermost item, moving means to cause relative movement of the movable elements such that said first support means release said lowermost item and second support means movable in response to said relative movement to engage with and support a next upper item in said stack prior to release of the lowermost item.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following more detailed description of one form of invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings inwhich:-

Figure 1 is a largely schematic illustration of the main elements of dispensing mechanism according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing pack actually being dispensed, Figure 3 is yet a further similar view, but showing the dispensing mechanism in its reset position.

Figure 4 is an elevation view of dispensing apparatus incorporating the dispensing mechanism of the invention, and Figure 5 is, a view similar to Figure 4 but showing a further form of the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The following description will deal specifically with dispensing of one litre packs of oil. This is by way of example as it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the dispensing arrangement according to the present invention can be used for dispensing other unitised items

including larger packs of oil, milk cartons or packaged food portions.

Figures 1 to 3 show in a schematic form the dispensing apparatus for dispensing, one at a time, the containers C stacked in a column. A container C consists of a container body B that will generally be of plastic construction. The container C has at its other end a neck N on which is attached a cap or closure P.

For reasons which will hereinafter become apparent the mechanism operates with the assumption that containers C have an area of reduced cross sectional dimension at some point near an upper end, this generally being represented by the dimension of the cap P being less than the width of the body B.

In the preferred form of the invention the dispensing apparatus is generally associated with containers C which are located within a cartridge (not shown). Thus a cartridge contains a plurality of containers C and can be simply loaded into the dispensing apparatus thereby obviating the need for the person loading the apparatus to individually load each container C separately. However, the dispensing mechanism according to the present invention is not limited to an

arrangement where the containers C must be installed in a cartridge form.

The key element of the dispensing apparatus according to the present invention is a pair of movable jaws 10. These jaws are oppositely located and are pivotable about pivot points 11. Actuator means (not shown) which can be formed, for example, by one or more linear actuators is coupled to the jaws 10 at say points 12. An actuator can be linked to each jaw, or alternatively a single actuator can be linked by a linkage to both jaws.

In the static configuration of the apparatus as shown in Figure 1 the lowermost or next to be dispensed container C is located within the confines of the opposed jaws 10 but is substantially the same height as said jaws 10. A pair of inwardly projecting slightly upwardly inclined ledges 13 (or fingers) engage with the lowermost or base surface S of the container C. As can be seen the remainder of the containers are stacked one upon each other by base surface S being engaged with the top surface of the cap P.

Actuation of the actuator means causes the jaws 10 to move apart about pivot points 11 (see Figure 2). This causes the ledges 13 to move sufficiPntlv anart that the lower most

container C can fall through the gap which is formed between the opposed distal ends of the ledges 13. At the same time a pair of inwardly projecting shoulders 14 at the upper end of the jaws 10 move inwardly toward one another so as to locate beneath the surface S of the next container C. This is possible because cap P is of less cross-sectioned dimension than the container body B.

Thus simultaneously the jaws 10 open to enable a container C to drop therethrough, but close to form a barrier to movement of the containers C above the container being dispensed. This "actuated"position of the dispensing mechanism is shown in Figure 2.

Generally a dispensing area (not shown) will be located beneath the jaws 10 so that the container. C simply drops into said dispensing area. This dispensing area will be open to access (possibly via a moveable door) so that the dispensed container can be removed from the dispensing apparatus. The position in which the container C that has been dispensed will take in the dispensing area is for example shown in Figure 3.

Sensor means can register the dispensing of the dispensed container C. This could be by way of an optical sensor such as created by an optical beam thrrngh which the dispenser can

pass. Other arrangements could include a weight sensitive floor in the dispensing area which senses the arrival of the container C.

Upon the sensor means determining a container C has been dispensed, the actuator means will return the jaws 10 to the rest position as shown in Figure 3. Thus the upper shoulders 14 will move apart to enable a container C to fall into the space between the jaws but simultaneously with this the ledges 13 will move to the"closed"position so as to engage with the bottom surfaces of the container moving into the jaws.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and as evidenced by the drawings that upon opening of jaws 10 at the beginning of a dispensing cycle the shoulders 14 will engage beneath the bottom of the next container C before the ledges 13 have opened sufficiently to enable the container to drop there between. Thus there is no danger of more than one container being dispensed at any one cycle.

To enable correct movement of the containers downwardly with the lowermost container moving correctly between the jaws 10 the cartridge system has an advantage in that the containers will always be in alignment and in particular correctly aligned to drop between thp Rhn ers 14. However, where a

cartridge system is not employed, it is the preferred arrangement that a vertical chute will receive the upper containers in a container column so that they are not only correctly aligned but the lowermost is aligned correctly relatively to the jaws 10 and in particular the space between the shoulders 14 when the jaws are in the"closed"position.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the dispensing mechanism will be contained within an outer housing (not shown). Also a coin operated activation mechanism of any one of a number of conventional designs may be used to activate the actuator means. Therefore in one form of the invention, for example, a purchaser of the oil pack on a forecourt situation could purchase from the forecourt attendant a token for insertion into the activation mechanism. Therefore an oil pack would only be able to be dispensed upon prepayment.

In an alternative arrangement, the dispensing apparatus could be electronically linked back to the till in the forecourt shop. Using technology currently in existence with petrol dispensing apparatus the dispensing apparatus incorporating the present invention could send a message electronically to the till that one or more packs of oil has been dispensed at a particular pump number.

has been dispensed is registered and becomes the responsibility of the cashier. Therefore, a charge can be added to the charge for petrol dispensed at the same time from the pump. Such an arrangement would most probably need to be under the control of the forecourt attendant who may have a special access key or the like to operate the mechanism and be required to insert say via a key pad the number of the pump at which the oil has been dispensed.

Referring now to Figure 4 there is shown in more detail a dispensing apparatus according to the present invention and as previously described. As can be seen the apparatus incorporates means for storing a plurality of containers C which can move into the dispensing column upon dispensing of containers in the column. According to the invention, a plurality of sloping floors 15 are provided each sloping towards the dispensing column. A container C lays on its side on each floor 15. The uppermost container C is prevented from movement as a consequence of contact with the cap P of the uppermost container C in the dispensing column.

A stop member 16 is pivotally coupled at 17 to the floor 15.

The container C thus lays on flat part 18 of the stop member 16. This flat part 18 merges into an inclined portion 19 which extends downwardly to guide portion 20 which carries an

abutment 21 against which the base of the container C on the next lower floor 15 engages.

The lower most floor 15 does not have a stop member 16. It however, has a downwardly inclined part 22.

When the container C between the jaws 10 is dispensed the dispensing column moves downwardly. This enables container C on the uppermost floor 15 to"topple"as a consequence of inclined portion 19 of the stop member 16 and then slide over guide portion 20 into the correct position in the dispensing column.

When the next container C between the jaws 10 is dispensed the dispensing column once again indexes downwardly by one container length. Because there is no longer a container C adjacent to guide portion 20 of the stop member 16 of the uppermost floor 15 the weight of the container C on the next lower floor pushes the stop member 16 so that it moves about its pivot axis 17 thereby clearing the way for this container to topple over the incline portion 19 of stop member 16 associated with the floor 15 on which the container resides and thereby be guided by guide portion 20 into the dispensing column.

This action is repeated each time a container is dispensed from the dispensing column until the container C on the lower most floor 15 moves into position on the cap P of the container C located between the jaws 10. This container is able to move into the position required because it topples and slides down incline portion 22.

A sensor means could be provided with the lower most floor 15 such that when the container C residing thereon has moved into the dispensing column a warning alarm (visible or audible) could be activated to warn that the apparatus will shortly require recharging. Such a warning arrangement could however be associated with other floors 15 or the dispensing column itself depending on how much advance warning is required of the imminent exhaustion of containers in the dispensing apparatus.

Figure 5 illustrates a similar arrangement to Figure 4 but showing smaller containers and illustrating a different form of container which can be dispensed. Also as shown each floor has more than one container. As the lower most container on each floor moves into the dispensing column the next container on that floor moves on to the stop member, thereby preventing the stop member from releasing containers from the next lowermost floor 15.

Figure 5 also shows an alternative arrangement whereby opposed guide members 23 are located between the jaws 10. These resilient flaps 23 apply pressure to each of opposed sides of the container C so as to apply a centralising action on the container whereby it sits correctly between the jaws 10.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this centralising of the container can be achieved in other ways.

For example a suitable guide could be provided for the next uppermost container in the dispensing column such that it drops into the correct orientation between the jaws 10.

Other modifications within the scope of the invention will be evident to those skilled in the art. For example, the apparatus could include a number of columns of containers, each column being dedicated to a particular grade or type of oil. As a consequence the activation mechanism would need to incorporate (once again in accordance with known technology) a means of identifying the particular column from which the purchase is being made. Alternatively a dedicated activation mechanism could be provided for each column though this is a least preferred arrangement given the increased cost of the activation mechanisms.

With a multi-column arrangement the jaws of each column could open into a chute which directs the dispensed container into the dispensing area. In this way the need for separate dispensing areas for each column would not be required.

The present invention thus provides an effective yet simple and economical mechanism for the dispensing of oil packs. As stated above the invention is not limited to such an end use. The mechanisms could be used for dispensing of other packs in situations where automatic or coin/payment controlled mechanisms are required.