The first commercial microwave oven was nearly 6 feet tall and weighed in at 750 pounds.
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7147130 | Single dose pill dispensing system A single pill dispensing system for a bottle/vial of the type for dispensing a medication pill, where the bottle/vial has a circular body and receives a circular cap. To facilitate the dispensing of a single pill, an insert, slidably received in the circular body an... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7032776 | Vending machine bucket drive control The disclosed invention is a dispensing apparatus and method for dispensing product from a vending machine. The invention employs a motor for bi-directionally rotating a dispenser bucket between two bumpers which physically obstruct and limit the rotational travel, ... | 04/25/2006 |
| 7017777 | Automated vending machine An automated vending machine is adapted to vend vacation-related goods. The vending machine is constructed as an enlarged reproduction of a conventional traffic control signal. The vending machine includes a rectangular enclosure in which is housed a storage and ven... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7007820 | Dental hygiene vending machine A dental hygiene vending machine comprises a housing having multiple dispensing compartments. A dispensing coil is rotatably connected to the housing and is capable of actuation. A cover is hingedly connected to the housing. The cover has multiple cutouts that subst... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6979096 | LED lighting for proportion blending system The ice dispenser includes an ice hopper for holding the ice and a lighting system positioned about the ice hopper for illuminating the ice. The lighting system may include a number of light emitting diodes. ... | 12/27/2005 |
| 6945427 | Self-learning depth logic for multi-depth vendor control The disclosed invention is a dispensing apparatus and method for dispensing product from a vending machine. The invention employs a product vend detector to sense when products are dispensed. A controller compares the occurrences of products actually dispensed to th... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6561379 | Packaging box for tablets A dispensing container is provided having a side discharging dispensing cap which is smaller than the end of the container and hinged to the container at a position slightly beyond the opening of the container and includes a position control arrangement f... | 05/13/2003 |
| 6467603 | Snack dispenser A snack dispenser consists of a series of tiers stacked to resemble a wedding cake. Each tier includes a trough divided into slots. A snack may be placed into each slot. The front of each slot is transparent. The troughs or trays are mounted on a rotatabl... | 10/22/2002 |
| 6405674 | Cabinet for feed products An automated cabinet for feed products comprises a closable cabinet having two compartments, wherein one expansive compartment contains a plurality of animal feed supporting shelves which pivot downward sequentially from one hinged end at timed intervals ... | 06/18/2002 |
| 6357622 | Automatic electronic drop-shelf coin operated mechanism An electronic drop-shelf vending device used within the vending industry to dispense packaged products. The device is a fully automatic and trouble-free electronic dispensing system that includes a micro-switch, a terminal block, a transformer, a solenoid... | 03/19/2002 |
| 6267265 | Pill dispenser A pill dispenser to dispense a pill received from a pill container engaged therebelow. The pill dispenser comprises a cavity, said cavity having an exposed end and shaped to form a conical surface therein. The conical shape of the dispenser cavity, advant... | 07/31/2001 |
| 6119894 | Pill dispenser with pivoting conical transferor A pill dispensing cap assembly to dispense a pill or the like received from a pill container engaged therebelow. The assembly comprises two components, namely a pill transferor to dispense one pill and a base. A cavity in said pill transferor is provided,... | 09/19/2000 |
| 6068158 | Pill distributor An automatic medication distributor including a hopper of general cylindrical shape, having boxes open transversally near the periphery of the hopper; a fixed base adapted to be associated to the hopper and provided, transversally and at a predetermined l... | 05/30/2000 |
| 5931282 | Component collective and component collective feeding apparatus A component carrier assembly includes component holders each for holding a component therein and connected to one another in a form of a tape carrier. Each holder is provided with a cavity to accommodate the component, a closure for shutting an opening of... | 08/03/1999 |
| 5927544 | Vending machine for encased recording media A vending machine for selling encased recording media such as CDs comprises a control unit and a plurality of vending units connected in tandem. Each vending unit is comprised of holders for holding encased CDs. The encased CDs are held in a way that allo... | 07/27/1999 |
| 5833104 | Ticket dispensing device A ticket dispensing device having a braking system for preventing unauthorized removal of tickets. A drive roller advancing the ticket strip through the device is connected to a brake wheel. Pulling on the ticket moves the brake wheel into a braking membe... | 11/10/1998 |
| 5660304 | Vending apparatus and method having improved reliability A vending apparatus of the type having drop shelves, wherein the shelves are retained in an upright position by a solenoid, and wherein, when so positioned, the solenoid forms a series electrical circuit with the shelf, such that the position of the shelf... | 08/26/1997 |
| 5586684 | Vending apparatus and method having improved reliability A vending apparatus of the type having drop shelves, wherein the shelves are retained in an upright position by a solenoid, and wherein, when so positioned, the solenoid forms a series electrical circuit with the shelf, such that the position of the shelf... | 12/24/1996 |
| 5529206 | Game machine having automatic gift ejecting function A game machine is provided with an automatic gift ejecting function of selecting gifts, even if in different forms, through game-like operations and automatically ejecting the gifts without using special capsules or the like by using devised gift display,... | 06/25/1996 |
| 5460294 | Single dose pharmaceutical dispenser subassembly A subassembly for use in a computerized medicine dispensing station is disclosed. The station has a cabinet for housing openable drawers in stacked arrangement containing dispensable pharmaceutical items. The subassembly includes a drawer having a base pl... | 10/24/1995 |
| 5454485 | Access door apparatus for a magnetic tape library system or the like An improved access door for magnetic tape library systems and the like, including a pivotable cartridge-receiving receptacle for facilitating the insertion and removal of cartridges into and out of the system. The receptacle is pivotably mounted to be rot... | 10/03/1995 |
| 5452821 | Vending machine dispensing apparatus A vending machine with a frame in which there are numerous pivoting shelves, each shelf having a tang which extends through a hole in the frame, each tang having a tab positioned to frictionally interact with a side of the hole to keep the shelf in a gene... | 09/26/1995 |
| 5368189 | Vending machine for newspapers and like articles The present invention is to provide a newspaper vending machine which dispenses a single newspaper one at a time while protecting the remaining newspapers from pilferage and the elements. The vending machine includes a plurality of sequentially fixed rect... | 11/29/1994 |
| 5322166 | Pill storage and dispensing container A pill storage and dispensing container has a lower storage unit with a plurality of radially arranged individual pill storage compartments. An upper storage unit positioned directly above and nestled within the lower unit also has a plurality of similarl... | 06/21/1994 |
| 5240142 | Article dispensing apparatus Dispensing machines are described which are suitable for use in a cold environment. The machines have a plurality of storage locations for supporting articles to be dispensed, each of which includes an electrical heating element. The heating elements can ... | 08/31/1993 |
| 5133478 | Pill dispenser A pill dispenser particularly adapted for use by the physically or mentally infirm. A plurality of containers are arranged in a matrix, each for receiving, storing and selectively releasing one or more pills. The columns of the matrix correspond to days o... | 07/28/1992 |
| 4974796 | Sonobuoy dispensers A sonobuoy dispenser including a rotatable tubular cylinder having a plurality of adjustable sonobuoy support members longitudinally of its external surface is rotated and indexed by a power source and a Geneva mechanism controlled by a fiber optic switch... | 12/04/1990 |
| 4893727 | Automated retail service delivery system An automated delivery system includes a unitary wheel assembly having a plurality of horizontally disposed tiers each supporting a plurality of radially extending product bins. Electronic control components including customer interfacing devices, regulate... | 01/16/1990 |
| 4871086 | Dispensing apparatus with pivotable article containers Apparatus for dispensing articles, particularly video tape cassettes, comprising a plurality of containers (26) for the articles and arranged in columns and having a transparent front panel to allow a user to identify the article therein. Each container b... | 10/03/1989 |
| 4871054 | Vending machine A machine for renting articles, e.g. video cassettes, which stores individual articles in containers (26) from which they may be rented by the user and wherein an opto-electronic emitter and sensor cobination (55) is provided to sense whether an article i... | 10/03/1989 |
| 4681504 | Storage and inventory control system for keys The invention is directed to a storage and inventory control system for keys wherein a microprocessor controlled positioning assembly directs a key to an inclined storage receptacle, and a withdrawal assembly releases the key from the storage receptacle. ... | 07/21/1987 |
| 4491240 | Compact vending machine A vending machine which comprises a replaceable, transparent loading magazine forming an array of honeycomb slots holding the goods to be dispensed. The magazine is positioned over the slanted top of the vending machine. Each honeycomb slot has a small hi... | 01/01/1985 |
| 4441628 | Trap door chute for vending machines In a trap door chute for vending machines, doors are pivotably mounted to sidewalls of the machine, in a certain trap door chute division. Each door supports itself in its merchandise storing position by a finger on an electric detention member. Along one... | 04/10/1984 |
| 4411375 | Novel shelf arrangement for a drop shelf vending machine A novel shelf arrangement for a drop shelf vending machine of the type used for newspapers and the like wherein the shelves are staggered or of varying width to suggest the loading or unloading of several shelves at any one given time.... | 10/25/1983 |
| 4371093 | Vending machine with convertible shelves A vending machine containing horizontal pivotable shelves disposed side-by-side are adapted to support articles to be dispensed. A device is disclosed for selectively converting two adjacent shelves so that they function as a single shelf whereby an opera... | 02/01/1983 |
| 4350120 | Automatic feeder for animals An automatic feeder for animals adapted to dispense packaged food at a preset time, wherein the automatic feeder comprises an elongated vertical housing having a plurality of storage bins defined by a movable shelf selectively operated to drop stored food... | 09/21/1982 |
| 4304340 | Semi-automatic display release means for single copy periodical vending machines A semi-automatic display supporting mechanism for a single copy periodical vending machine wherein the display copy of a magazine, newspaper or the like is vended to a purchaser in due sequence after the principle storage area of the machine has been exha... | 12/08/1981 |
| 4284207 | Drop shelf mechanism A novel system for supporting, releasing and resetting the shelves of a drop shelf vending machine wherein a pawl with a double sided actuating ramp is retracted by an extended roller chain link pin on the upward or vend cycle, the back side of actuating ... | 08/18/1981 |
| 4284206 | Carousel dispensing apparatus A product dispensing apparatus of a coin operated type is provided with a housing having a product delivery compartment attached thereto. A frame structure is rotatably mounted within the housing and has a plurality of product column assemblies mounted in... | 08/18/1981 |
| 4254892 | Vending machine shelf wideners A low cost apparatus adapted to permit shelf type vending machines adapted to sell small items such as candy bars to be modified so that larger items such as cakes and pies can be sold therefrom. The apparatus comprises a panel which fits onto a shelf of ... | 03/10/1981 |