Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

An apparatus for dispensing articles such as tickets and cards includes a cabinet and a plurality of article dispensing assemblies inside the cabinet. Each article dispensing assembly includes a base and a frame for enclosing articles to be dispensed in a stack. The bases are mounted on a pair of vertical support plates. Each frame is hingedly mounted on one of the support plates for movement between a dispensing position and a loading position, a removable partition wall disposed inside the frame whose position in the frame can be changed to accommodate articles of different sizes, a gate behind the frame for receiving articles from the frame and allowing only one article at a time to pass through, a toothed blade disposed underneath the frame, a motor driven rack and pinion coupled to the toothed blade for bringing the toothed blade into engagement with the lowermost article in the stack, moving said toothed blade so that the lowermost article is transported from the stack into the gate, bringing the toothed blade out of engagement with the article and then moving the toothed blade back to engage the next article in the stack, a removable weight seated on top of the stack to push the stack down against the toothed blade, a first sensor assembly for sending out a signal each time an article passes through the gate, second and third sensor assemblies for sending out signals for controlling movement of the motor coupled to the rack and pinion and a fourth sensor assembly for sending out a signal when there are no articles in the frame. A plurality of exit rollers are located behind the gates for pulling tickets out of the gates of the respective dispensing assemblies. An angled tray receives articles emerging from the exit rollers and directs the articles forward to an opening in the front of the cabinet for removal.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim