Automatic drink dispenser

Abstract

 Automatic dispenser of drinks containers (19), particularly bottles and cans, comprising dispensing mechanisms (18) consisting of baskets (20) designed to support said containers, having adjustable width depending on the dimensions of said containers, and moving on command by means of actuating means (32+37, 41, 42) from container loading positions to discharge positions of said containers and vice versa.

Description

1. Field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic dispenser of drinks preserved in containers, particularly bottles and cans, comprising a series of compartments consisting of metal head panels connected by spacing strips, in which are stacked said containers, and mechanisms for dispensing said containers on command arranged at the base of said compartments upstream of the conveyors which deliver the bottles to the outlets from the dispensers.

2. Prior art

[0002] Automatic dispensers of drinks preserved in special containers such as bottles and cans can be large or small; in many cases, and generally for bottles, there are used large dispensers comprising a series of compartments consisting of metal head panels connected by spacing strips in which said bottles or cans are stacked in a chequered pattern, and mechanisms for dispensing on command of said bottles or cans.

[0003] In these dispensers the compartments are adjustable in width, depending on the diameter of the bottles or cans in such a manner that the containers always take a certain respective arrangement, specifically positioned at the vertices of isosceles triangles as required for proper operation of the dispensing mechanisms; each mechanism is generally made up of two rods side by side controlled so as to oscillate alternatively from a rest position to a position of discharge of the bottles or cans by means of special cams driven by a ratiomotor.

[0004] With dispensers provided in this manner the interventions to be performed in case the machines have to be loaded with bottles or cans of shapes different from those for which the compartments are adjusted, involve rather laborious operations.

[0005] Indeed it is necessary to change the width of the compartments, varying the distance between the head panels, because the bottles or cans are stacked in chequered pattern with the required relative arrangement in which they are positioned at the vertices of isosceles triangles.

[0006] It is then necessary to adjust the length of the connecting strips between the head panels of the compartments and to do this requires removing the compartments from the machine and then ins tailing them again after adjustment.

[0007] Said adjustment is rather difficult because the plates of the metal head panels have large construction tolerances and often even the containers, especially the bottles, are provided with large dimensional deviations or have complex shapes allowing them to take transverse positions in the compartments.

3. Summary of the invention

[0008] The object of the present invention is an automatic dispenser which would avoid known maintenance problems and would be suitable for different shapes of the bottles and cans by simple, quick and accurate adjustments.

[0009] The dispenser in accordance with the invention is characterized in that it comprises at least one dispensing mechanism consisting of at least one basket designed to support at least one drink container and having a width adjustable to the dimensions of said container, said basket being movable in relation to the head panels of the respective compartment and being operatively connected to actuating means capable of moving it on command from the loading position of said container at least to the discharge position of said container and vice versa.

[0010] In accordance with a preferred solution said basket consists of at least one pair of brackets pivoted in relation to the head panel of a compartment around an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drink containers, and at least one pair of rods substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drink containers and supported eccentrically by said pair of brackets and spaceable depending on the diameter of said containers.

[0011] Advantageously said basket is made up of three rods of which at least one is movable in relation to the other two and said actuating means consist of a crank and slotted link fixed to said brackets, a wheel with a pin engaged with the slot of said crank and slotted link, a ratiomotor equipped with an electric motor and connected to said wheel to rotate it, switch means and control means operatively interconnected and designed to connect said motor to a power supply on command.

[0012] Preferably one of the head panels of each compartment has a removable plate positioned near the respective basket and having at least one cut out portion having dimensions allowing passage of a drink container.

[0013] Dispensers with dispensing mechanisms provided as described above are particularly useful because they can be calibrated very simply and quickly.

[0014] Drink containers such as bottles and cans can be stacked in the compartments arranged in a column and it suffices to adjust the width of the basket by changing the distance between its rods depending on the diameter of said containers while it is no longer necessary to modify the compartment width, which is left unchanged at its maximum value.

4. Detailed description of the invention

[0015] The characteristics and advantages of the invention will now be explained with reference to the annexed FIGS. 1-3 showing as a nonlimiting example a preferred embodiment of said invention.

FIG. 1 shows a partially cross sectioned side view of a dispenser provided in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a partial view along plane of trace II-II of FIG. 1 of some details of the dispenser shown in enlarged scale, and

FIG. 3 shows the kinematic motion of the details of FIG. 2.

[0016] In FIGS. 1 and 2 reference number 10 indicates as a whole one compartment of an automatic dispenser of drinks preserved in special containers and especially bottles and cans.

[0017] The base of the compartment 10 consists of the front, rear and side walls indicated by reference numbers 11, 12, 13 and 14 respectively; with the side walls 13 and 14 are connected the head panels 15 and 16 of said compartment 10 as shown in FIG. 2; a cross piece 17 connects the walls 11 and 12 while the fixed length strips which connect the head panels 15 and 16 are not shown.

[0018] Reference number 18 indicates as a whole a mechanism for dispensing on command bottles or cans containing drinks like that indicated by reference number 19 in FIG. 3; other bottles or cans 19 stacked in columns in the compartment 10 with their longitudinal axis lying parallel to the head panels 15 and 16 are not shown.

[0019] Reference number 20 indicates as a whole a basket designed to support a row of bottles or cans 19 in the particular case in number of four.

[0020] The basket 20 consists of two end brackets indicated by reference numbers 21 and 22 and two rods 23 and 24 welded in holes provided for that purpose in said brackets such as those indicated by reference numbers 25 and 26 in FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0021] The holes 25 and 26 are arranged in eccentric positions in relation to the axes of the pins 27 and 28 by means of which the basket is pivoted in the walls 11 and 12.

[0022] Reference numbers 29 and 30 indicate two threaded holes in the bracket 22; similar but unthreaded holes 29 and 30 in bracket 21 are not shown.

[0023] Reference number 31 in FIG. 1 indicates a third rod, shown in broken lines, which can be threaded into one of the holes 29 and 30 of the bracket 22 after being fitted in one of the similar hole's in bracket 21.

[0024] A crank and slotted link 32 is integral with the bracket 22 and the slot 33 thereof is engaged with a pin 34 fixed eccentrically to the wheel 35.

[0025] The shaft 36 of the wheel 35 is rotated on command by the ratiomotor indicated as a whole by reference number 37 and equipped with an electric motor connectable on command to a power supply (not shown) by switch means shown schematically in block 41 which comprises a timed switch and a microswitch in parallel.

[0026] The switch means 41 are commanded by particular control means shown schematically in block 42 to close for predetermined periods depending on the angle of rotation which the wheel 35 has to complete, when the dispenser is activated by the insertion of coins for taking drinks.

[0027] The control means can be made up of for example of a wheel with peripheral notches spaced at predetermined angles and with which is kept in contact a feeler pin capable of opening and closing the microswitch of the block 41.

[0028] Reference number 38 indicates as a whole a shaped plate fixed to the wall 14 in a removable manner; the plate 38 has cut out portions to form steps 39 in its lower edge as shown in FIG. 1. In this particular case the cut out steps are four in number and form four outlet ports such as that indicated by reference number 40 and from which the bottles 19 emerge in the slides connected to the dispenser outlets. The number of cut out steps 39 and of the corresponding outlet port 40 is equal to the number of bottles deposited and aligned in the basket 20 at each loading.

[0029] When in the compartment 10 there are stacked in column bottles or cans 19 having the maximum diameter available, the basket 20 is used fitted with only the two rods 23 and 24 welded to the brackets 21 and 22.

[0030] When in the compartment 10 there are stacked bottles or cans 19 of a diameter less than the maximum, there is mounted in the brackets 21 and 22 the third rod 31 also, either in the hole 29 or the hole 30, and in the respective similar holes of the bracket 21 depending on the dimensions of said bottles or cans.

[0031] It is thus the width of the basket 20 of the dispensing mechanism 18 which is adapted to the dimensions of the bottles or cans 19 by regulating the distance between the rods 23, 24, 31 while the width of the compartment 10 and hence the distance between the head panels and 16 remains unchanged.

[0032] In relation to the dimensions of the bottles 19 there can be installed a shaped plate 38 having a different number of cut out portions and steps.

[0033] When in the dispenser there are inserted the coins necessary for dispensing a bottle or can 19, as is normal, the electric motor of the ratiomotor 37 is energized through the switch means 41 and the control means 42 for the time necessary to rotate the wheel 35 through a predetermined angle from the loading position of the bottles or cans 19 in the basket 20 to the dispensing position of a bottle or can; the wheel 35 by means of the pin 34 and the crank and slotted link 32 rotates the basket 20 around the pins 27 and 28; the basket 20 completes one oscillation clockwise from the loading position to the delivery position in which it carries a bottle or can opposite to an outlet port 40 from the compartment 10.

[0034] Successive insertions of coins command successive rotations of the basket 20, each rotation through the predetermined angle for discharge of another bottle or can from one of the successive outlet port 40 formed by the cut out steps 39 of the plate 38.

[0035] After discharge of the last bottle or can 19 contained in the basket 20, said basket, being driven by the ratiomotor 37, is commanded to return to the loading position by means of the crank and slotted link 32, which completes one oscillation in counter-clockwise direction, and of the wheel 35.

[0036] The positions which the crank and sliding link 35 can adopt are shown in unbroken and broken lines in FIG. 3.

[0037] An automatic dispenser equipped with dispensing mechanisms 10 such as the one illustrated is a solution optimized for functionality and reliability in addition to simplicity, speed and safety of regulation.

Claims

1. Automatic dispenser of drinks preserved in special containers, particularly bottles and cans, comprising at least one compartment delimited by head panels in which are stacked said containers, at least one mechanism for dispensing on command said containers, and actuating means of said at least one dispensing mechanism, characterized in that the said at least one dispensing mechanism (18) consists of at least one basket (20) designed to support at least one drink container (19) and having a width adjustable to the dimensions of said container, said basket (20) being movable in relation to the head panels of the respective compartment (10) and being operatively connected to actuating means (32+37, 41, 42) capable of moving it on command from the loading position of said container at least to the discharge position of said container and vice versa.

2. Dispenser in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that said basket (20) consists of at least one pair of brackets (21, 22) pivoted in relation to the head panels (15, 16) of a compartment (10) around an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drink container (19) and at least one pair of rods (23, 24) substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drink containers and supported eccentrically by said pair of brackets (21, 22) and spaceable depending on the diameter of said containers.

3. Dispenser in accordance with claim 2, characterized in that said basket (20) consists of three rods (23, 24, 31) of which at least one rod (31) is movable in relation to the other two (23, 24).

4. Dispenser in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that said actuating means (32+37, 41, 42) consist of a crank and slotted link (32) fixed to said brackets (21, 22), a wheel (35) having a pin (34) engaged with a slot (33) of said crank and slotted link (32), a ratiomotor (37) equipped with an electric motor and connected to said wheel (35) to rotate it, switch means (41) and control means (42) operatively interconnected and designed to connect said motor to an electric power supply on command.

5. Dispenser in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that one of the head panels (15, 16) of each compartment (10) is provided with a removable plate (38) placed near the respective basket (20) and has at least one cut out portion (39) having dimensions allowing passage of a drink container (19).

Drawing