ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 1 -- United States Patent no. 12,722,827, issued on Sept. 1.
"Dispensing device for trays in hot food vending machines" was invented by Leon Leykin (Pikesville, Md.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A device for dispensing food trays in a hot food vending machine is provided. The device comprises at least one dispensing bay each having a removable open-top container, a slide assembly, and a horizontal conveyor. The slide assembly comprises a lifting fork that lifts a stack of trays in each container until a top tray exits the container. When the stack of trays is placed into the container channel, the fork is "hidden" in a space under the channel. The horizontal conveyor c...