A drive system for a vending or other dispensing machine includes an electronic switch and an electric motor configured to actuate dispensing coils or other dispensing technologies to dispense instances of products. The drive system minimizes the risk of sparking and igniting propane or other volatile refrigerants or other volatile chemicals or materials used in or near the machine. The electronic switch may be a Hall effect switch, and the electric motor may be a brushless DC electric motor. A homing circuit is connected to the drive system to control/monitor actuation of the dispensing mechanism. A wiring harness connects the electronic switch to the electric motor, and may include a connector which can be set to allow the electric motor to operate in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction.

A drive system for a vending or other dispensing machine includes an electronic switch and an electric motor configured to actuate dispensing coils or other dispensing technologies to dispense instances of products. The drive system minimizes the risk of sparking and igniting propane or other volatile refrigerants or other volatile chemicals or materials used in or near the machine. The electronic switch may be a Hall effect switch, and the electric motor may be a brushless DC electric motor. A homing circuit is connected to the drive system to control/monitor actuation of the dispensing mechanism. A wiring harness connects the electronic switch to the electric motor, and may include a connector which can be set to allow the electric motor to operate in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction.

An article dispensing apparatus includes: one article discharging apparatus; and another article discharging apparatus, the one article discharging apparatus and the other article discharging apparatus being capable of being combined in a back-to-back manner. The one article discharging apparatus includes: a driving source; an output gear configured to rotate by a driving force from the driving source when a discharging instruction has been given to the one article discharging apparatus; link levers where each link lever is provided rotatably about an axis of the link lever; and a controller configured to, when the output gear is rotated from the standby position by the discharging instruction, prohibit stopping of drive of the driving source to allow the rotation of the output gear until a preset prohibited time elapses from starting of the rotation of the output gear even when supply of electric power to the driving source is interrupted.

An article dispensing apparatus includes: one article discharging apparatus; and another article discharging apparatus, the one article discharging apparatus and the other article discharging apparatus being capable of being combined in a back-to-back manner. The one article discharging apparatus includes: a driving source; an output gear configured to rotate by a driving force from the driving source when a discharging instruction has been given to the one article discharging apparatus; link levers where each link lever is provided rotatably about an axis of the link lever; and a controller configured to, when the output gear is rotated from the standby position by the discharging instruction, prohibit stopping of drive of the driving source to allow the rotation of the output gear until a preset prohibited time elapses from starting of the rotation of the output gear even when supply of electric power to the driving source is interrupted.

A vending machine remotes contents sensing apparatus collects information from the actual delivery of a product, sends it on to an MCU, then to a CPU, to the internet, to a remote receiver with a web interface application on a web page for access by a service person for real time delivery information.

A medicine vending machine with classification function, including an electric cabinet and at least one medicine storage cabinet connected to the electric cabinet. A door of the electric cabinet is provided with a display screen, an operation area and a medicine delivery port. A medicine delivery box is provided at an interior of the electric cabinet near the medicine delivery port. A plurality of medicine cargo lanes and a medicine delivery device are provided inside the medicine storage cabinet, and a side wall of the medicine storage cabinet is provided with an isolation door. The medicine delivery device is configured to transfer the medicines stored in the medicine cargo lane to the medicine delivery box through the isolation door.

A medicine vending machine with classification function, including an electric cabinet and at least one medicine storage cabinet connected to the electric cabinet. A door of the electric cabinet is provided with a display screen, an operation area and a medicine delivery port. A medicine delivery box is provided at an interior of the electric cabinet near the medicine delivery port. A plurality of medicine cargo lanes and a medicine delivery device are provided inside the medicine storage cabinet, and a side wall of the medicine storage cabinet is provided with an isolation door. The medicine delivery device is configured to transfer the medicines stored in the medicine cargo lane to the medicine delivery box through the isolation door.

Provided is an automatic column setting device for an article vending machine. The device is for an article vending machine 1 including a column in an article storing shelf 13, to store articles arranged in a front-rear direction, and a dispensing mechanism 55 removably installed for the column in the shelf 13, to sequentially dispense the stored articles, the mechanism 55 is arbitrarily installable at a plurality of preset right and left positions in the shelf 13, and the automatic column setting device includes a motor presence/absence information preparing section 81 that detects an installation position of motor 61 in accordance with a connected state of motor 61, and a pattern extracting section 82 that determines a type and an installation position of the mechanism 55 in the shelf 13 based on presence/absence information of motor 61 that is detected by the motor presence/absence information preparing section 81.

Disclosed is a medicine dispensing device and a method for dispensing medicine, wherein the medicine dispensing device includes a tray and a drop plate below the tray in a drop direction, wherein the drop plate is slidable relative to the tray between a hold position and a drop position, wherein the medicine dispensing device further includes one or more retaining members for retaining the drop plate relative to the tray in the drop direction when the drop plate is in a dispensing path, wherein the drop plate is slidable in a release direction into a release position outside of the dispensing path, wherein the one or more retaining members are arranged for releasing the drop plate from the tray in the release position.

A vending machine system for loading and dispensing pre-baked unpackaged food including a fixed cartridge disposed in a refrigerator of a vending machine, and a transport cartridge adapted to removably attach to the fixed cartridge, the transport cartridge operable for holding trays of unpackaged food and loading the trays of unpackaged food from the transport cartridge into the fixed cartridge, wherein, when the transport cartridge is removably attached to the fixed cartridge, a front opening of the transport cartridge aligns with a front opening of the fixed cartridge, and wherein the rack of the transport cartridge aligns with the conveyor system of the fixed cartridge such that trays of unpackaged food within the transport cartridge can simultaneously be transitioned from the rack to the conveyor system.