US3140012A - Liquid dispensing system - Google Patents

Description

R. v. HANSEN 3,140,012 LIQUID DISPENSING SYSTEM July 7, 1964 Filed Jan. 9, 1961 1 FULL EMPTY 2 6 Com EJECTOR *L u 4 1 /SPRme b 32 521L126 23 sms 33 3.30

INVENTOR. ROBERT V. HANSEN Fig. I H M w ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,140,012 LIQUID DISPENSING SYSTEM Robert V. Hansen, Scottsdale, Ariz., assignor to Controls Company of America, Schiller Park, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 81,438 Claims. (Cl. 222-63) This application relates to coin operated liquid dispensing devices and particularly to a vending system for dispensing liquids from a number of containers in sequence.

Without going into a great deal of detail due to the complexity of the art, suffice it to say that all systems known to me have one or more of the following shortcomings: (l) dispensing of a short measure at the time of transfer, (2) necessity of shuffling of containers at the time of servicing, (3) adversely affected by power failures, and (4) no assurance that container first in will be the container which is dispensed first.

The primary object of this invention is to overcome all of the foregoing disadvantages by means of a control system which is simple and reliable in operation and requires a minimum of technical knowledge on the part of the serviceman.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in, or be apparent from, the specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a twin can system commonly used for dispensing liquids; and

FIG. 2 shows the circuit diagram for the system shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a twin dispenser unit is shown in which containers 9, are connected to a common dispensing line 14 through pumps 11 and 12. The pressure of the liquid within the containers is utilized by pressure switches 15 and 16 connected to valves 20 located at the lowest point in the curved bottom 21 of the container. The switches are responsive to the pressure in air traps 17 and 18 connected in the line between the switches and the valves and control the operation of the pumps. Any other suitable means may be used to sense and respond to the level of the liquid in the containers.

As seen in FIG. 2, the pressure switches 15, 16 are connected in parallel with each other and in series with solenoid actuated coin rejector 26 across the line L1, L2. When the containers are full, switches 15 and 16 will be closed with contacts 40 and 44 completing the circuit through the coin rejector. When both containers are empty, contacts 40 and 44 will be open deenergizing the coin rejector so that coins inserted in the machine will be returned.

The pumps 11, 12 are also connected in parallel with each other and in series (through switches 36, 38) with timer 48, which controls the pump operating time each time a coin is dropped into the machine to dispense a single portion of liquid. It should be understood that any suitable means may be used to dispense liquid from the containers, such as gravity flow through an electrically controlled valve. Switches 36 and 38, secured to armature 23 in coil 24, are connected in series with pumps 11 and 12, respectively, to separately energize the pumps in response to the position of the armature. The coil is connected to contact 42 in pressure switch 15, and when container 9 is full, contact 42 will be open and the coil will be deenergized with armature 23 normally biased to the right by conventional means (not shown). Switch 36, therefore, will normally be closed so that pump 11 will operate when a coin is inserted in the machine to start the timer. When container 9 is empty, contact 42 will close and coil 24 will be energized, closing switch 38 and opening switch 36 so that pump 12 will now be operative. A third switch 34, also closed by the movement of the armature, completes a circuit including signal light 25 to contact 46. Liquid will now be dispensed from container 10. When container 10 is empty, contact 46 will be closed completing the circuit through the signal light 25, indicating that the machine is empty. Coin rejector solenoid 26 will now be deenergized, returning any coins which may be inserted into the machine.

If container 9 is emptied after only a part of a portion has been dispensed, switch 15 will close with contact 42 energizing coil 24. Armature 23 will move to the left, opening switch 36 and closing switch 38 and energizing pump 12. Since each portion dispensed is controlled by timer 48, pump 12 will continue to dispense liquid until a full portion is dispensed. The time lost in transfer, though only momentary, will not affect the portion dispensed, since the timer will be deenergized when switch 36 is opened and reenergized when switch 38 is closed.

If transfer has been made from container 9 to container 10 and container 9 is replaced by a full container, switch 15 will move from contact 42 to contact 40, deenergizing coil 24. Normally armature 23 would move to the right closing switch 36 and energizing pump 11. To prevent armature 23 from moving after container 9 has been refilled, locking device 50 is positioned to block the path of the armature. This device includes a pair of latching bars 30 and 32 pivoted at 31 and 33. Bar 32 is connected to armature 23 and bar 30 is connected to armature 21 in coil 22 which is connected to contact 46. Armature 21 is normally biased to the left in a conventional manner (not shown). The ends 52 and 54 of the latching bars are bent over slightly so that bar 32 will prevent counterclockwise rotation of bar 30 and bar 30 will prevent clockwise rotation of bar 32 when the end of one of the bars is positioned under the end of the other bar. Spring 28 is connected between the latching bars so that the motion of either one of the bars will cause the other bar to follow.

As seen in FIG. 2, with both containers filled and switch 36 closed, pump 11 will be energized when liquid is to be dispensed. When container 9 is emptied, pressure switch 15 will close with contact 42 energizing coil 24 moving armature 23 to the left to close switches 38 and 34. Latching bar 32 will rotate counterclockwise and latching bar 30 will follow due to the bias of spring 28. It can be seen that end 52 on bar 32 will be pulled out from under end 54 of bar 30, which will be pulled under end 52 of bar 32. If coil 24 is deenergized by replacing container 9 with a full container, the armature would normally move to the right but it will now be blocked by the end 54 of bar 30 positioned under the end 52 of bar 32. Switch 38 will remain closed and liquid will continue to be dispensed from container 10. When container 10 is empty, switch 16 will close with contact 46 energizing coil 22 moving armature 21 to the right. Latching bar 30 will be rotated clockwise moving end 54 out from under the end 52 of latching bar 32. Since coil 24 has been deenergized, armature 23 will move to the right closing switch 36 so that liquid will be dispensed from container 9. If this transfer is made while liquid is being dispensed from container 10, pump 11 will continue to dispense until timer 48 stops. This switching back arrangement was not available in prior systems, making it necessary to rearrange the containers each time the dispenser was serviced.

When both containers have been emptied, both coils 22 and 24 will be energized, with the armatures 21 and 23 moving to the right and left respectively, and switch 34 being closed to energize the signal light. In the event of a power failure, the electrical system will remain in the position it was in, since the locking device will hold the armatures 21 and 23 in position.

With this arrangement, each container will be emptied before the system transfers to the other container. The transfer can be made while a portion is being dispensed, further assuring that a minimum of liquid remains in the container. It is also possible to replace either container while liquid is being dispensed from the other. In the event that the power should be shut off, the circuit would not be affected, since the solenoids are blocked from any movement by the upper ends of the latching bars, thus assuring that each container is emptied before dispensing is started in the other container.

Although but a single embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A liquid dispensing apparatus comprising, a pair of liquid containers, a liquid dispensing pump in each container, electrical circuit means for energizing the pumps, a timer connected to the circuit means and to the pumps to control the duration of operation of the pumps to dispense a predetermined quantity of liquid each time the timer is actuated, electric switch means connecting the timer to the pumps so that only one pump will be energized when the timer is actuated, sensing means in the containers for indicating the quantity of liquid in the containers and connected in the circuit to deenergize the system when both containers are empty, one of said sensing means controlling the switch means to transfer the timer from one pump to the other when the container being dispensed is empty, the timer continuing to operate after transfer until a full portion has been dispensed.

2. A liquid dispensing apparatus comprising, a pair of liquid containers, dispensing means operatively connected to each container, pressure switch means connected to each container to indicate the quantity of liquid in each container, electric circuit means connecting each indicating means to the dispensing means and including timer means to control the interval of operation of the dispensing means, electric transfer switch means connected to one of the pressure switch means to control the energizing of the dispensing means so that one container is emptied before dispensing from the other container can occur, and holding means unaffected by continuity of electric supply and responsive to the other pressure switch means to hold the transfer means in one position until the container being dispensed is empty.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said holding means is constructed and arranged to prevent the transfer of dispensing even though the container which is emptied first is replaced by a full container.

4. A liquid dispensing apparatus having a number of replaceable liquid containers comprising, dispensing means connected to each container, timer means connected to control the interval of operation of said dispensing means, responsive means connected to each container and operative to respond to the container being empty, electrical switch means connected to said responsive means and the dispensing means to transfer the operation of said dispensing means to another container when said responsive means indicates that the container is empty, and locking means including a pair of latch bars each pivoted at one end and bent at the other to block motion of the bars toward each other for maintaining the operative relation of said responsive means and said dispensing means until the container being dispensed is empty.

5. A liquid dispensing apparatus comprising, first and second liquid containers, liquid dispensing means for each of said containers, timing means operative to control the duration of operation of said liquid dispensing means to dispense predetermined quantities of liquid each time said timing means is actuated, switch means selectively connecting said timing means to only one of said dispensing means at a time and operative to switch control of said timing means between said dispensing means and also operative to control energiza'tion of said timing means so that said timing means is de-energized when said switch means is transferring control of said timing means from one container to another, and means connected with said switch means and operative to sense the quantity of liquid in said containers and, when the container being dispensed is emptied, to transfer control of said timing means from one dispensing means to another, said timing means being de-energized during said transfer and continuing to operate after said transfer until said predetermined quantity is dispensed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,409,245 Black Oct. 15, 1946 2,669,941 Stafford Feb. 23, 1954 2,870,941 Steidley Jan. 27, 1959

Claims (1)

1. 5. A LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS COMPRISING, FIRST AND SECOND LIQUID CONTAINERS, LIQUID DISPENSING MEANS FOR EACH OF SAID CONTAINERS, TIMING MEANS OPERATIVE TO CONTROL THE DURATION OF OPERATION OF SAID LIQUID DISPENSING MEANS TO DISPENSE PREDETERMINED QUANTITIES OF LIQUID EACH TIME SAID TIMING MEANS IS ACTUATED, SWITCH MEANS SELECTIVELY CONNECTING SAID TIMING MEANS TO ONLY ONE OF SAID DISPENSING MEANS AT A TIME AND OPERATIVE TO SWITCH CONTROL OF SAID TIMING MEANS BETWEEN SAID DISPENSING MEANS AND ALSO OPERATIVE TO CONTROL ENERGIZATION OF SAID TIMING MEANS SO THAT SAID TIMING MEANS IS DE-ENERGIZED WHEN SAID SWITCH MEANS IS TRANSFERRING CONTROL OF SAID TIMING MEANS FROM ONE CONTAINER TO ANOTHER, AND MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID SWITCH MEANS AND OPERATIVE TO SENSE THE QUANTITY OF LIQUID IN SAID CONTAINERS AND, WHEN THE CONTAINER BEING DISPENSED IS EMPTIED, TO TRANSFER CONTROL OF SAID TIMING MEANS FROM ONE DISPENSING MEANS TO ANOTHER, SAID TIMING MEANS BEING DE-ENERGIZED DURING SAID TRANSFER AND CONTINUING TO OPERATE AFTER SAID TRANSFER UNTIL SAID PREDETERMINED QUANTITY IS DISPENSED.

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