CA1133441A - Beer bottle dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure This invention is directed to an apparatus and method for automatically dispensing one or more at a time of a plurality of bottles containing various ingredients.
The apparatus for dispensing one or more containers comprises (a) a container receptacle; (b) a container in the receptacle;
(e) an opening in the receptacle through which the container can be manually drawn; and (d) means for replacing a container withdrawn through the opening with another container, the means moving the replacement container into the same position as the container removed. The method of dispensing one or more containers from a receptacle comprising (a) positioning a container in juxtaposition with an opening in the receptacle;
(b) drawing the container through the opening; and (c) moving a replacement container into position behind the opening.

Description

li3344~

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to an apparatus and method for automatically dispensing one or more at a time of a plurality of bottles containing various ingredients.
More particularly, this invention is directed to an apparatus and method for automatically dispensing one or more at a time of a number of bottles containing beer, the beer being brewed and produced by various brewers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Public houses, parlours, taverns, bars, lounges and other commercial beverage dispensing establishments are popular sites for patrons of the establishmentsto mingle together for social purposes while consuming assorted types of beverages. Beer parlours and the like are particularly popular and usually serve either draft beer or bottled beer according to their patron's preference. It is also usually possible to obtain at these places beverages other than beer such as soda drinks, liquor, wines, and the like. Most of the beverages dispensed are served to the patrons at a chilled temperature, which is usually preferred by the consumer.
Keeping large volumes of bottled beer of a variety of brands at a chilled temperature in a commercial beer tavern, parlour, bar, or lounge necessarily requires large capacity refrigeration coolers which are capable of cooling the large number of bottles reasonably rapidly.
During busy hours, a large volume of bottles pass through the coolers during a relatively short period of time. The coolers are taxed to their cooling capacity during these peak periods. This is due to at least two reasons. The

- 2 -1~33~41 bartender, or the like, who takes the bottled beer out of the coolers in response to orders placed by the patrons, must constantly open and close the doors to the coolers.
Accordingly, the cooling capacity of the coolers is sub-stantially reduced because of the constant escape of cool air from the cooler. This problem frequently results in bottled beer being dispensed to the patrons at less than ~the ideal chilled drinking temperature of the beer pre-ferred by most beer consumers. This draws complaints from the patrons, which is a nuisance to the owners and operators of the establishment.
The reduction in cooling capacity of the coolers during peak consumption periods due to the constant loss of cool air from the cooler is aggrevated by the fact that a larger volume of bottles, particularly of the popular brands, is moved through the cooler during those peak hours. Accordingly, during peak periods, not only is the cooling capacity of the coolers reduced but the number of warm bottles of beer to be cooled is increased, which results in a double fold problem.
For many years, providing chilled bottled beer of a variety of brands to the patrons of commercial beer serving establishments has been a continuing and unsolved problem. There has been a continuing need for an improved system whereby bottled beer of assorted brands at the ideal chilled temperature can be served to patrons of a commercial beer dispensing establishment even during peak hours.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

I have invented an apparatus and a method which can dispense a large volume of bottled beverages, for example, 1~33441.

beer, produced by a variety of beverage producers automatically at a chilled temperature readily and quickly even during peak business hours. My beveraye dispensing apparatus has the advantage that one end of the apparatus can pass through a wall adjoining the main storage coolers of a beverage dispensing establishment and be stationed in the coolers.
Such coolers are usually maintained by most chilled bottled beverage dispensing establishments, particularly if they dispense beer. Furthermore, my apparatus can be loaded with bottled beverage from the rear directly from the cooler so that it is not necessary to open the front end of the apparatus in order to reload it with beer. Accordingly, all bottled beverage such as beer is loaded into my apparatus at a chilled temperature and is maintained at the chilled temperature during its time of storage in my apparatus.
My apparatus for dispensing chilled bottles containing beverage also has the advantage that the bottles of beverages of various brands are automatically brought forward to the front of the apparatus to replace chilled bottles that are removed from the front of the apparatus by the waiters and waitresses who are attending to filling the orders of the patrons of the establishment. My apparatus also provides cap openers for each brand of beverage, e.g., beer that is loaded and held in the apparatus. Furthermore, my apparatus can be operated directly by the waiters and waitresses serving the patrons, and it is not necessary to have an intermediate person such as a bartender, or the like, who withdraws the bottles from the cooler and gives them to the waiter or waitress for delivery to the customers.
This is the normal custom in most bottled beer dispensing commercial establishments of today, particularly the beer ~13344~

dispensing establishments. Accordingly, it is possible with my apparatus to eliminate one well paid job in a typical beverage dispensing establishment, thereby reducing labour costs.
My apparatus is electronically controlled and is capable by means of a computer memory of keeping track over a period of time, for example, a shift for a waiter, of the bottles of beer of assorted brands that are withdrawn from the apparatus by each waiter or waitress employed by the establishment. The number of bottles of beer of assorted brands sold to a customer by any particular waiter or waitress during the course of their shift is automatically tallied and a total is provided at the end of each shift for each waiter or waitress. This is done by means of coded magnetic eards having different code numbers being carried and used by the various waiters and waitresses serving the customers.
The apparatus for dispensing one or more eontainers eomprises:
(a) a container reeeptaele;
(b) a eontainer in the reeeptaele;
(c) an opening in the receptacle through which the container can be manually drawn; and (d) means for replacing a eontainer withdrawn through the opening with another eontainer, the means moving the replaeement container into the same position as the container removed.
The reeeptacle can hold a number of containers and a plurality of openings are in the receptacle. Means ean open and close to govern whether one or more containers ean be withdrawn from the receptaele. The receptacle ean be 5 _ refrigerated, The container can be a bottle. The container can be a capped bottle and cap opening means can be located on the recep-tacle. The open and close means may be a door which swings away from the apparatus when in an open position and swings against the apparatus when in a closed position.
The invention is also directed to a method of dis-pencing one or more containers from a receptccle comprising:
(a) positioning a container in juxtaposition with an opening in the receptacle;
(b) drawing the container through the opening;
(c) moving a replacement container into position behind the opening.
The receptacle may be refrigerated and the container is a beer bottle. The opening in the receptacle may be opened or closed.
! Initially in the method the opening may be closed, an operator wishing to withdraw a beer bottle from the dispenser may initiate a signal which causes the opening to open, the operator then withdraws the bottle through the opening, the opening then closes, and a replacement beer bottle moves into position to replace the bottle withdrawn through the opening by the operator. The operator may initiate the signal by means of a coded magnetic card.
The receptacle may have a plurality of openings, a movable door may cause the openings to be open or closed, the operator by means of the coded magnetic card then signals the door which is initially in a closed position to cause the openings to be opened, the operator withdraws one or more beer bottles through one or more of the openings, the door then moves into a position that causes the openings to be closed, and a means then causes replacement beer bottles to 1~33441 be moved into position to replace the bottles that have been removed by the operator.
The beer bottles may be capped, the caps are then removed by the operator by means of one or more cap removers that are positioned on the machine, and the cap remover once a cap has been removed causes a replacement bottle to be moved into position to replace the bottle withdrawn by the operator.

DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIGURE 1 illustrates a perspective view of the front of my bottle dispensing apparatus.
FIGURE 2 illustrates a partially cut away perspective side view of my bottle dispensing apparatus;
FIGURE 3 illustrates a rear end view of my auto-matic bottle dispensing apparatus;
FIGURE 4 illustrates the mechanism that causes the bottle carrying rack to move upwardly and forwardly to the front of the bottle dispensing apparatus.
FIGURE 5 shows a plan view of a portion of one of the beer bottle carrying trays; and FIGURE 6 illustrates a simplified schematic perspective view of the rear and one side of the bottle dispensing apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to Figure 1, which shows a perspective view of the front of my beverage bottle dispenser, a front door 2 is shown in the raised position above the dispenser 1.

1133~41 This door 2 consists of an upper sealing plate 3, a stainless door frame 4, and plate glass inserts 5. The front door 2 is shown in a raised position but it can be tilted forwardly and downwardly so as to completely enclose the front opening of the beer bottle dispenser 1. The glass 5 permits the various brands of beverage, for example beer, available from the dispenser 1 to be displayed without having to open the door 2.
For the purpose of this discussion, bottles of beer will be mentioned, although it will be recognized that other bottled beverages can also be dispensed from the dispenser 1.
The beer bottle dispenser 1 consists of a strong generally rectangular front outer frame 6 which houses a bottle dispensing opening frame 7. The bottles of beer, not shown, are manually drawn through the openings in the frame 7. For demonstration purposes, Figure 1 illustrates ten lower and upper beer bottle dispensing openings in the opening frame 7. Each of the openings is identified by label signs 8 which can be flipped up as a bottle is withdrawn from any particular opening. Positioned immediately behind each label sign 8 is a cap opener (not shown). The cap opener can be tipped up and down. Accordingly, as a bottle of beer is withdrawn from a particular opening, the label sign 8 is flipped up by the person withdrawing the capped bottle and the cap is snapped off the top of the bottle using the particular cap opener that is positioned behind the label 8. Two elongated bottle cap trays are located respectively below the series of upper and lower openings to collect the caps removed from the bottles.

As can be seen from Figure 1, various hrands of bottled beer can be displayed and dispensed through the various openings of the one dispenser 1. Figure 1 illustrates nine different brands of beer. Those brands which have a higher demand occupy three openings whereas the smaller volume brands take up only two openings. Indeed, particularly slow moving brands need occupy only one opening.
Referring to Figure 2, which illustrates a perspective side view of the dispenser 1, the front door 2 is shown in the raised position, as it is shown in Figure 1. The dis-penser is constructed of a strong generally rectangular shaped side outer frame 9. The outer frame 9 encloses and supports two horizontal bottle trays 10. Each bottle tray 10 is constructed so that it provides a series of parallel rows for holding the various bottles of beer. As can be seen in Figure 1, both the upper and lower bottle trays 10 each has ten rows for holding bottles, the ten rows connecting respectively with the ten openings in the frame 7. Each row runs parallel to the side of the dispenser 1 and is con-structed to have an elongated bottle carry forward rack 11, a pair of elongated support rails 14 positioned in parallel orientation on either side of the elongated bottle carry forward rack 11, and a proportionate number of elongated vertically positioned guides 13, which partition the various rows. The guides 13 ensure that the bottles are maintained in neat parallel rows and that the bottles as they advance forward in each row do not mingle with bottles in other rows.
The construction of the upper and lower bottle trays 10 can be seen more clearly in Figure 3. The bottles 24 rest in an upright position on their respective combination of g _ bottle support rails 14, and racks 11. While only five bottles 24 are shown in Figure 3, this is merely for illu-stration purposes and the dispenser 1 (in the embodiment shown in Figure 3) can hold up to twenty different rows of bottles 24. Figure 3 also illustrates a rear frame 16 which is constructed to correspond in dimensions and shape more or less with front bottle dispensing opening frame 7. The dimensions of the rear frame 16 and the front opening frame 7 are sized to accommodate the size of beer bottle that is common in the trade. Beer bottle sizes are usually standard in any particular jurisdiction.
Referring again to Figure 2, the dispenser 1 is, supported by a number of support legs 15. The legs 15 must be sufficiently sturdy in construction to withstand the weight of the dispenser 1 and also the large number of liquid containing bottles that can be stored in the dispenser 1.
As can be seen in Figure 2, front door 2 is connected to and co-operates with a rotatable door opening sprocket 17.
A door opening sprocket 17 is positioned on each side of the dispenser 1, and the door 2, although the second far-removed sprocket cannot be seen in Figure 2. The two door opening sprockets 17 act in co-operation with a door opening drive clutch 18 and a counter-weight 19. The counter-weight 19 helps to offset the weight of the front opening door 2 and ensures that the front door 2 can be easily and smoothly tilted from a fully closed to a fully opened position. Figure 2 also illustrates an intermediate support frame 22 which is constructed to correspond in dimensions and construction with front opening frame 7 and rear frame 16. This intermediate frame 22 provides increased strength and stability to the dispenser 1.

The two sprockets 17 co-operate with a door opening drive clutch 18 which is positioned on a shaft that extends between the two sprockets 17. This clutch is a slip clutch so that if any object, such as a waiter's hand, gets caught in the door 2, the clutch will slip and thereby prevent injury to the object or to the hand, or damage to the machine.
The slip clutch 18 is driven by an activatable clutch which permits the front door 2 to be moved independently of other ` oving mechanical mechanisms in the dispenser 1. Thus, the front door 2 can be opened and closed without having other parts in the dispenser 1 being moved or activated, and conversely, the other moving parts in the dispenser 1 can be activated while the door remains stationary in a closed or opened position.
Figure 2 also illustrates electronic control switches 21 positioned at various locations in the dispenser 1. These electronic control switches monitor the bottles as they travel along the respective rows and when a particular row has less than twelve bottles in it, a light located at the front of the dispenser 1 commences to blink, thereby signalling to the person in charge of operating the dispenser that more bottles from the cooler are to be loaded into the dispenser 1.
It will be recognised that electronic control switches are only one means of monitoring the bottles in the various rows.
Other monitoring means can be utilized, for example, a photolens system, or the like.
The dispenser 1 is constructed so that the front portion of the dispenser 1 is displayed to the beverage room, while the rearend of the dispenser is positioned in a walk-in-type bottle cooler. Bottles taken from the bottle cooler canthereby be readily loaded onto the two bottle trays from the rear of the dispenser 1, without having to bring the bottles out into a warm room.

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Referring to Figure 3, as mentioned previously, the beer bottles 24 rest on rails 14 and carry forward rack 11.
Rails 14 are basically stationary at any one time, but they can be raised or lowered from time to time as required to accommodate different heights of bottles. As is seen in Figure 3, the upper carry forward rack consists of ten upper parallel bars 11 and while the lower carry forward rack consists of ten lower parallel bars llj each of the upper and lower groups of bars being connected together respectively by upper and lower cross-bars 12. These two upper and lower cross-bars 12 support the respective upper and lower racks 11, thereby making the respective upper and lower racks 11, unitary in construction. The lower cross-bar 12 rests upon an eccentric connection 34, which in turn rests upon an eccentrically positioned pin 30 mounted on the carry forward rack wheel 20 (See Figure 4 for additional detail). As is seen in Figure 3, the wheels 20 are mounted on a cross-shaft 27 which is supported by a pair of pillow block bearings 25 which are mounted on the lower portion of the outer frame of the dispenser 1. The-drive shaft 27 is driven by an endless chain 28, which in turn is driven by an electric motor 29.
Figure 4 illustrates the mechanism that causes the carry rack 11 to raise and carry the bottles forward to the front of the dispenser 1, along the respective rows in the dispenser 1. The eccentric connection 34 is positioned between the cxoss-bar 12 and rests on a pin 30 which is eccentrically connected to rack wheel 20. Rack wheel 20 in turn is connected by means of a drive chain 32 to a rack pull forward wheel 31. The rack pull forward wheel 31 is connected by means of pull forward bar 33 to cross-bar 12.
The end of the pull foxward bar 33 that is removed from the cross-bar 12 is positioned on wheel 31 between the center of the wheel and the circumference so that when wheel 31 rotates it causes the pull forward bar 33 to move forwardly and rearwardly. When the two wheels 20 and 31 are set in motion together, wheel 20, by means of eccentric pin 30, causes connection 34, cross-bar 12 and rack 11 in combination to move upwardly and downwardly, while at the same time, wheel 31, which is linked to wheel 20 by chain 32, causes pull forward bar 33 to pull forward thereby causing cross-bar 12 and rack 11 to move forward in unison. Thus, when one or more bottles 24 rest on the rack 11 and rails 14, rail 11 rises upwardly in relation to the two rails 14 positioned on either side of rack 11 and causes the one or more bottles 24 to be raised. At the same time, rail 11 moves forwardly because of the movement of pull bar 33, the result being that the bottle 24 is caused to move forwardly along the row in the direction of the front of the dispenser 1. By design, carry forward rack 11 moves forward more than one bottle width so that if there is any slack or any spaces between the respective bottles in the various rows, those bottles will catch up with one another so that by the time they reach the front of the dispenser 1, they are always touching snuggly. This is advantageous when the two bottle trays are being loaded with bottles from the rear of the dispenser 1 because it is not then necessary to ensure that there are no spaces between the various bottles in the various rows of the dispenser. The bottles are merely placed on the trays in various rows and they are snuggly together by the time they travel to the front of the dispenser.
Referring to Figure 5, which shows a plan view of the rows of bottles positioned on the rails and racks 11, a number of bottles 24 (seen from the top) are shown in ~13344~

the various rows. These bottles are maintained in position in the respective rows by guides 13 which are located between each row of bottles. These guides 13 ensure that the bottles do not stray out of their respective rows.
The relative motion of rack 11 in association with rails 14 is also shown by means of the double headed arrows that indicate the direction of travel back and forth of the various components of the rack 11, thereby causing the bottles 24 to move forwardly to the front of the dispenser 1.
The front end of the dispenser 1 is in the direction indicated by the top of Figure 5. In other words, as one looks at Figure 5, the bottles 24 travel directly upwardly.
Figure 6 illustrates a schematic view of the general dispenser frame 9 supported on legs 15, with the upper and lower trays 10 extending from the rear of the dispenser to the front of the dispenser. The rear of the dispenser is at the left, as seen in Figure 6, while the front of the dispenser is at the right. Motor 29 is positioned at the general rear area of the dispenser 1 and drives all of the moving components of the dispenser.
By means of a chain belt drive 28, it drives the various rack carry forward wheels 20, each positioned on respective shafts, and positioned at appropriate locations below both the upper and the lower bottle racks 10. The carry forward racks 11, in the respective upper and lower bottle racks 10, are caused to move in unison by means of interconnecting and common sprockets, shafts and wheels 20. Furthermore, by means of drive chain 36, the two door sprockets 17, and the slip clutch 18 are controlled so as to open and close the door 2 located at the front of the dispenser 1.

In operating the dispenser 1, a waiter or waitress equipped with his or her individually coded magnetic card, ~13344~

inserts the card in a suitable card receptacle (not shown) which initiates an electronic signal, which starts motor 29.
By means of the various drive components, front door 2 is tilted upwardly and rearwardly to expose the various brands of bottled beer, or other beverage, located in the various rows on the upper and lower bottle racks immediately behind the door 2. The waiter or waitress then withdraws the required number of bottles of assorted brands in order to fill the orders placed by the patrons of the establishment.
As the waiter or waitress withdraws each bottle of beer, he or she snaps off the cap of each bottle by means of the individual bottle openers that are located immediately behind each of the flip-up label signs 8. The cap that is removed from the bottle drops into one of two trays (not shown) located across the front of the dispenser below both the upper and lower bottle racks 10. The bottle opener tilts upwardly and downwardly as a bottle is raised by the hand of the waiter or waitress so as to enable the opener to catch the cap on the bottle. Once the cap has been removed, the bottle opener drops downwardly to its original position whereupon it hlts an activatingelectronic switch, which in turn signals the motor 29 to start which then causes the front door 2 to be moved back into its closed position. The door 2 is controlled to stop at its open and closed positions by means of the notches that are located in the circumference of the sprocket 17.
One or more fans are located in the interior of the dispenser l and serve the purpose of circulating cold air inside the dispenser 1. However, the fan shuts off when the front door 2 is opened. This ensures that cold air continues to remain in the interior of the dispenser 1, and also ensures that an uncomfortable draft is not directed at the waiter or waitress as he or she is operating the dispenser 1.
Other electronic switches are located along the bottle rows in the interior of the dispenser 1, so that when a particular row becomes depleted, a blinking light is activated, which signals that the row needs refilling.
As explained previously, the beer bottle cap remover after removing the cap from a bottle of beer drops to its normal down position which thereby activates the electronic switch to cause the door 2 to close. However, the electronic switch also signals the drive mechanism in the dispenser 1 to cause the bottle carry forward racks 11 to travel through one cycle. In so doing, the bottles 24 in the various rows inside the dispenser are caused to move forwardly to the front of the dispenser 1. If a bottle has been removed from a particular row, the bottles move forward so that the removed bottle is replaced. If no bottle 24 has been withdrawn from a particular row, the rack 11 in that row still raises the bottles 24, but because there is no room for the bottles 24 in that row to move forwardly, the rack 11 slips in relation to the bottles in that row (i.e., the rack slides under the bottles without moving the bottles) and as a result those particular bottles are not moved forwardly.
It is only in those rows where bottles have been removed that the bottles located in the row behind the removed bottles move forwardly.
Because the dispenser 1, can only be operative by means of specific coded magnetic cards, carried by the waiters or waitresses, it is not possible for unauthorized ~13344~

persons to remove any bottles from the dispenser. This is an important feature, and ensures that the dispenser will be accepted by the particular authorities that control the installation of equipment in the beverage dispensing establishments located in any particular jurisdiction.
The racks 11 can be caused to move separately from the door 2 and hence, for example, if the waiter or waitress wants to withdraw more than one bottle from any one row, without closing the door before withdrawing the second bottle, the waiter or waitress simply signals the rack 11 to move another bottle into position at the front of the dispenser 1. This can be repeated as many times as is required. Once the door 2 closes, the rack 11 automatically moves one cycle to ensure that bottles are in position at the front of each row.
While particular embodiments of this invention have been described and shown, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and it is contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

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The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. An apparatus for dispensing one or more liquid containing containers comprising:
(a) a plurality of container receptacles, the receptacles holding the containers in upright position;
(b) an opening in each receptacle through which a container in the receptacle can be manually withdrawn in an upright position;
and (c) means for replacing a container drawn through said opening with another upright container from a direction other than through the opening, said means moving the replacement container in an upright position into substantially the same position as the removed container without unduly agitating the replacement container as it is moved into place.
2. An apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein an open and close means is positioned adjacent at least two of said openings on the side through which the containers are manually withdrawn and when in an open position allows one or more containers to be drawn through one or more of said openings and when the means is in a closed position prevents one or more containers being withdrawn through one or more of the openings.
3. An apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein said open and close means is a door which swings away from the apparatus to provide an open position and swings against the apparatus to provide a closed position.
4. An apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the door swings about a horizontal axis.
5. An apparatus according to Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the receptacles are refrigerated.
6. An apparatus according to Claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the container is a bottle.
7. An apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the containers are capped bottles and respective cap opening means are located on the respective openings to the receptacle.
8. An apparatus according to Claim 7 wherein said cap opening means when used to uncap a withdrawn bottle activates the means for replacing the withdrawn bottle.
9. An apparatus according to Claim 1, 7 or 8 wherein said upright container contains a fermented beverage.
10. An apparatus according to Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the means for replacing the withdrawn upright container obtains the replacement upright container from an upright container storing receptacle located on a horizontal plane on the side of the receptacle opposite the opening through which the container has been withdrawn.
11. An apparatus according to Claim 10 wherein the bottle replacement means comprises a foot which lifts the bottle from its resting place, advances the bottle slightly more than one bottle width in the direction of the opening, and then lowers the bottle to its resting place.
12. A method of dispensing one or more liquid containing containers from a dispenser containing at least two container receiving receptacles comprising:
(a) positioning one respective container in an upright position in juxtaposition with an opening in each receptacle, the opening in each receptacle being adapted to permit the container in the receptacle to be withdrawn in an upright position;
(b) positioning at least two receptacles adjacent to each other;
(c) drawing at least one container in an upright manner through at least one of the openings in at least one of the receptacles; and (d) moving a replacement upright container into position adjacent the opening of the receptacle in substantially the same position as was occupied by the container withdrawn, without unduly agitating the replacement container.
13. A method according to Claim 12 wherein the receptacle is refrigerated.
14. A method according to Claim 13 wherein the container is a bottle.
15. A method according to Claim 12, 13 or 14 wherein the openings in the receptacles can be opened or closed and at least two of the openings are opened or closed in unison.
16. A method according to Claim 14 wherein initially the opening is closed, an operator wishing to withdraw a bottle from the dispenser initiates a signal which causes the opening to open, the operator withdraws at least one bottle through the opening, the opening then closes, and a replacement bottle moves into position to replace the bottle or bottles withdrawn through the opening.
17. A method according to Claim 16 wherein the operator initiates the signal by means of a coded card.
18. A method according to Claim 17 wherein the dispenser has a plurality of openings therein, a movable door is positioned adjacent the openings and causes the openings to be closed, the operator by means of a coded card signals the closed door to open, the operator withdraws one or more bottles through one or more of the openings, the door moves back to a closed position thereby closing the openings, and a bottle moving means causes upright replacement bottles to be moved into position to replace the bottles that have been removed by the operator.
20. A method according to Claim 18 wherein the bottles are capped, the caps are removed by the operator by means of one or more cap removers that are positioned on the dispenser, and the cap remover once a cap has been removed, activates the bottle moving means to move a replacement bottle into position to replace the bottle withdrawn by the operator.