Dispensing assembly in vending machine

{
  "publication_number": "US9811966B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Dispensing assembly in vending machine",
  "abstract": "A dispensing assembly includes a mounting plate with a plurality of openings, a rotatable shaft located adjacent to the mounting plate, a plurality of blocking plates pivotably attached to the mounting plate, and a plurality of jacking members attached to the rotatable shaft. Lengths of the plurality of jacking members are different from each other. When the shaft is rotated to an initial position, the plurality of jacking members disengages away from the plurality of blocking plates, and the plurality of blocking plates are received in the plurality of openings. When the shaft is rotated to a working position, the plurality of blocking plates is rotated out of the plurality of openings to positions slanted relative to the mounting plate by the plurality of jacking members. Slanting angles of the plurality of blocking plates relative to the mounting plate are different from each other.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A dispensing assembly, comprising: at least one mounting plate with a plurality of openings arranged in a row along a first direction; a rotatable shaft located adjacent to the at least one mounting plate, an axis of the rotatable shaft being substantially parallel to the first direction; a plurality of blocking plates pivotably attached at edges of the plurality of openings; and a plurality of jacking members attached to the rotatable shaft, wherein each of the plurality of jacking members protrudes from the shaft along a second direction which is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the shaft; lengths along the second direction of the plurality of jacking members are different from each other; when the shaft is rotated to an initial position, the plurality of jacking members disengage away from the plurality of blocking plates, and the plurality of blocking plates are received in the plurality of openings; when the shaft is rotated to a working position, the plurality of blocking plates is rotated out of the plurality of openings to positions slanted relative to the at least one mounting plate by the plurality of jacking members, and slanting angles of the plurality of blocking plates relative to the at least one mounting plate are different from each other.",
    "2. The dispensing assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of jacking members comprises a first jacking member, a second jacking member located below the first jacking member, and a third jacking member located below the second jacking member; and the second jacking member is located at a central portion between the first jacking member and the third jacking member.",
    "3. The dispensing assembly of claim 2, wherein the length along the second direction of the second jacking member is less than the length of the first jacking member, but greater than the length of the third jacking member.",
    "4. The dispensing assembly of claim 3, wherein the plurality of jacking members is substantially parallel to the at least one mounting plate when the rotatable shaft is in the initial position, and the plurality of jacking members is substantially perpendicular to the at least one mounting plate when the rotatable shaft is in the working position.",
    "5. The dispensing assembly of claim 4, wherein the rotatable shaft is substantially parallel to the at least one mounting plate, the length along the second direction of the third jacking member is greater than a distance between the shaft and the at least one mounting plate when the rotatable shaft is in the working position.",
    "6. The dispensing assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one limiting piece extends substantially perpendicularly from an inner side of the at least one mounting plate, and a cutout is defined in the at least one limiting piece for receiving the rotatable shaft.",
    "7. The dispensing assembly of claim 6, wherein the cutout is semicircular.",
    "8. The dispensing assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one pair of positioning pieces extends from upper edges of each of the plurality of openings, and each of the plurality of blocking plates comprises a plate body and at least one positioning portion extending from the plate body, and the at least one positioning portion is located between the at least one pair of positioning pieces.",
    "9. The dispensing assembly of claim 8, wherein a through hole is defined in the at least one positioning portion, a positioning hole is defined in each positioning piece, and a bolt extends through the positioning hole and the through hole for pivotably attaching each of the plurality of blocking plates to the at least one mounting plate.",
    "10. The dispensing assembly of claim 9, wherein the bolt comprises an inserting portion and a blocking portion wider than the inserting portion; the inserting portion extends through the positioning hole and the through hole; and the blocking portion is located outside of the at least one pair of positioning pieces."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "This application is related to co-pending application Ser. No. 13/953,664, entitled, “DISPENSING ASSEMBLY IN VENDING MACHINE.”\n\n1. Technical Field\n\nThe present disclosure relates to vending machines, and particularly to a dispensing assembly in the vending machines.\n\n2. Description of Related Art\n\nA dispensing assembly for dispensing commodities includes a bracket, a tray, and a shaft. The bracket includes a base for the placement of the commodities. The tray is located under the base. The tray is secured to the shaft. The shaft is rotatable under an action of a motor to rotate the tray to hold the base or release the base. When the tray supports the base, the commodities are blocked by the base and cannot drop down for the customer to retrieve. When the tray releases the base, the base is free, causing one item to drop down to the bin with gravity. Generally, the shaft is inserted in a plurality of shaft sleeves, and then the shaft sleeves are secured to the bracket by screws or latches. However, the securing process of the shaft is time-consuming, and a securing structure of the shaft can be complicated and costly. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.\n\nMany aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.",
  "cpc": [
    "G07F 11/24",
    "A47F 1/08"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G07F 11/24"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Hongfujin Precision Industry Wuhan Co Ltd",
    "Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Chao Liu",
    "Zhi-Ping Wu",
    "Ting-Ting He"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2013-12-23",
  "publication_date": "2017-11-07",
  "grant_date": "2017-11-07",
  "priority_date": "2013-03-29",
  "application_number": "US-201314138207-A",
  "family_id": "51599084",
  "cited_by_count": 2,
  "citations": [
    "US4423828A",
    "US4542834A",
    "US4565300A",
    "US4574980A",
    "US4673105A",
    "US4676398A",
    "US4776487A",
    "US4854477A",
    "US5799824A"
  ]
}