摘要 |
A newspaper vending machine that is used for dispensing a single newspaper copy out of a stack stored in an enclosed magazine in response to a fixed payment by a user. The machine consists of a secure housing containing a storage compartment or magazine, where the newspapers are stacked on a spring-loaded horizontal platform that causes the top newspaper to be always positioned at the same level of a dispensing slot in the housing. The top newspaper is moved from the stack and one of its corners is exposed through the slot by means of a movable finger that catches the fold of the paper and pushes it through the slot a sufficient distance to make it accessible to a purchaser. The motion of the finger is controlled by a manually-operated vertical lever mounted at a slant with respect to the stack of newspapers, so that the finger automatically clears the stack when the lever is in a retracted position. The motion of the lever is controlled by a coin acceptor mechanism, which releases the lever for one cycle of travel when payment is made.
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