CA1200183A - Juice dispensing machine including article delivery mechanism - Google Patents
Juice dispensing machine including article delivery mechanismInfo
- Publication number
- CA1200183A CA1200183A CA000412913A CA412913A CA1200183A CA 1200183 A CA1200183 A CA 1200183A CA 000412913 A CA000412913 A CA 000412913A CA 412913 A CA412913 A CA 412913A CA 1200183 A CA1200183 A CA 1200183A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- items
- food
- juice
- catcher
- drum
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23N—MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING HARVESTED FRUIT, VEGETABLES OR FLOWER BULBS IN BULK, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PEELING VEGETABLES OR FRUIT IN BULK; APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ANIMAL FEEDING- STUFFS
- A23N1/00—Machines or apparatus for extracting juice
- A23N1/003—Machines or apparatus for extracting juice especially for citrus fruits
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F13/00—Coin-freed apparatus for controlling dispensing or fluids, semiliquids or granular material from reservoirs
- G07F13/10—Coin-freed apparatus for controlling dispensing or fluids, semiliquids or granular material from reservoirs with associated dispensing of containers, e.g. cups or other articles
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- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Food Science & Technology (AREA)
- Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Vending Machines For Individual Products (AREA)
Abstract
INVENTION : JUICE DISPENSING MACHINE
INCLUDING ARTICLE DELIVERY
MECHANISM
INVENTORS : JOHN KRIVEC AND ARNOLD FRISHMAN
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A vending machine for dispensing freshly squeezed orange juice is described. The vending machine includes a fruit delivery mechanism consist-ing of a rotary tumbler with a generally horizontal axis of rotation which stores items of fruit in bulk, a catcher positioned to catch items of fruit, and a delivery shute including a gating mechanism for delivering items of fruit individually at controlled intervals to a juice extractor. A sensor detects when a cupful of juice has been received by an accumulator, and delivery of further items of fruit to the juice extractor is then discontinued and the contents of the accumulator are then emptied into a cup located at a service port in the vending machine. This operating cycle is repeated each time coins are inserted into the vending machine. To ensure fully automated operation without blockages, the catcher has a spring loaded, hinged flap which deflects to release fruit to the drum when fruit is jammed into the catcher, and the delivery shute has a mechanism which restricts the passage in the shute in response to the general size of fruit being delivered to ensure single file movement. To ensure proper delivery of items of fruit to the catcher, the drum has an internal projection with a guide for directing an individual item of fruit towards the catcher and a conveying surface angled relative to the rotational axis of the drum to roll items of fruit towards the guide as they are conveyed thereby tending to seat an individual item of fruit at the guide for delivery to the catcher.
INCLUDING ARTICLE DELIVERY
MECHANISM
INVENTORS : JOHN KRIVEC AND ARNOLD FRISHMAN
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A vending machine for dispensing freshly squeezed orange juice is described. The vending machine includes a fruit delivery mechanism consist-ing of a rotary tumbler with a generally horizontal axis of rotation which stores items of fruit in bulk, a catcher positioned to catch items of fruit, and a delivery shute including a gating mechanism for delivering items of fruit individually at controlled intervals to a juice extractor. A sensor detects when a cupful of juice has been received by an accumulator, and delivery of further items of fruit to the juice extractor is then discontinued and the contents of the accumulator are then emptied into a cup located at a service port in the vending machine. This operating cycle is repeated each time coins are inserted into the vending machine. To ensure fully automated operation without blockages, the catcher has a spring loaded, hinged flap which deflects to release fruit to the drum when fruit is jammed into the catcher, and the delivery shute has a mechanism which restricts the passage in the shute in response to the general size of fruit being delivered to ensure single file movement. To ensure proper delivery of items of fruit to the catcher, the drum has an internal projection with a guide for directing an individual item of fruit towards the catcher and a conveying surface angled relative to the rotational axis of the drum to roll items of fruit towards the guide as they are conveyed thereby tending to seat an individual item of fruit at the guide for delivery to the catcher.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a machine for dispensing juice freshly squeezed from fruit, vegetab-les or other suitable food items, and to a delivery mechanism for conveying such items of food to a juice extractor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fruit juice bottled or stored for extended periods of time has fallen into disrepute with health conscious consumers because of the loss of nutritional value associated with processing, transport and storage.
It has consequently become increasingly popular to sell freshly squeezed fruit juice, particularly orange juice.
Juice extracting devices used for such purposes require the presence of an operator to assist in or at least supervise the delivery of items of fruit to a juice extractor. Fuily automated operation is complicated by lack of uniformity in the size and shape of fruit to be squeezed (even in fruit graded according to size) and the attendant difficulty in ensuring delivery of fruit to a juice extractor without periodic block-ages.
p~
-- 4 ~
A number of devices for delivering articles received in bulk to a processing station or the like are known. Such devices have been proposed in the following patents: U.S. patent No. 678,033 which issued on July 9th, 1901 to E.A. Reeves; patent No.
841,471 which issued on January 15th, 1907 to E.
Vallentine; U.S. Patent No. 1,191,938 which issued on July 25th, 1916 to L.J. Bazzoni; U.S. patent No.
1,692,456 which issued on September 6th, 1923 to J.M. Lynch et al; U.S. patent No. 1,741,033 which issued on July 27th, 1926 to G.H. Neidlinger, U.S.
patent No. 2,060,182 which issued on November 10th, 1936 to F.H. Dellaree; and, U.S. patent No. 3,346,095 which issued on October 10th, 1967 to P.H. Dixon.
The patents mentioned above describe inter alia an article delivery device comprising a rotating _ .
drum with a plurality of internal vanes for tumbling articles. ~n inclined shute having a catcher element e~tends into the drum to receive the tumbled articles, and delivers them to a point external to the drum.
The inclined shute may be dimensioned to pass articles individually and in a particular orientation, and may be provided with a mechanism for rejecting defective articles. However, what is presently required is an
The invention relates to a machine for dispensing juice freshly squeezed from fruit, vegetab-les or other suitable food items, and to a delivery mechanism for conveying such items of food to a juice extractor.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fruit juice bottled or stored for extended periods of time has fallen into disrepute with health conscious consumers because of the loss of nutritional value associated with processing, transport and storage.
It has consequently become increasingly popular to sell freshly squeezed fruit juice, particularly orange juice.
Juice extracting devices used for such purposes require the presence of an operator to assist in or at least supervise the delivery of items of fruit to a juice extractor. Fuily automated operation is complicated by lack of uniformity in the size and shape of fruit to be squeezed (even in fruit graded according to size) and the attendant difficulty in ensuring delivery of fruit to a juice extractor without periodic block-ages.
p~
-- 4 ~
A number of devices for delivering articles received in bulk to a processing station or the like are known. Such devices have been proposed in the following patents: U.S. patent No. 678,033 which issued on July 9th, 1901 to E.A. Reeves; patent No.
841,471 which issued on January 15th, 1907 to E.
Vallentine; U.S. Patent No. 1,191,938 which issued on July 25th, 1916 to L.J. Bazzoni; U.S. patent No.
1,692,456 which issued on September 6th, 1923 to J.M. Lynch et al; U.S. patent No. 1,741,033 which issued on July 27th, 1926 to G.H. Neidlinger, U.S.
patent No. 2,060,182 which issued on November 10th, 1936 to F.H. Dellaree; and, U.S. patent No. 3,346,095 which issued on October 10th, 1967 to P.H. Dixon.
The patents mentioned above describe inter alia an article delivery device comprising a rotating _ .
drum with a plurality of internal vanes for tumbling articles. ~n inclined shute having a catcher element e~tends into the drum to receive the tumbled articles, and delivers them to a point external to the drum.
The inclined shute may be dimensioned to pass articles individually and in a particular orientation, and may be provided with a mechanism for rejecting defective articles. However, what is presently required is an
2~ article delivery mechanism which can pass articles, .
particularly citrus fruit, that tend to vary from an ideal shape or size and tend to be sticky and which can avoid blockages which tend to occur when such articles accumulate at various locations in the delivery mechanism.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect, the invention provides a machine for dispensing juices in response to an actuat-ing signal such as -the deposit of appropriate coinage.
The machine includes a frame having a service port where juice is dispensed. Delivery means secured to the frame deliver items of food rom which juice can be extracted individually to a juice extractor,!and an 1~ accumulator receives the extracted juice. Control means activate the delivery means in response to the actuating signal to deliver items of food at controlled intervals to the juice extractor. Sensing means detect when a predetermined quantity o juice has accumulated in the accumulator, and the control means then discon-tinue further delivery of items of food to the juice extractor and activate discharge means which discharge the predetermined quantity of juice to the service port.
For fully automated operation (as in a coin-2~ operated vending machine) the present machine is prefer-ably provided with delivery means for locating a cup ~Z~ 33 at the service port to receive fruit juice. Unlike conventional machines which commonly deliver previously processed juices when actuated, the present machine operates to freshly squeeze items of fruit, when activated.
In a second aspect, the invention provides an article delivery device comprising a drum mounted to a frame for rotation about a generally horizontal axis and adapted to receive articles in bulk. The drum has at least one internal projection for conveying ar-ticles deposited in the drum from a lower to a higher position in which the articles fall freely. Catcher means are positioned in the drum to receive the articles falling from the internal projection and include a portion adapted to deflect when an article is pushed sufficiently hard against the catcher means portion thereby permitting articles to escape back into the drum. Means are provided for conveying articles caught by the catcher means individually to a point external to the drum. In a preferred embodiment, the conveying means include an inclined shute together with means for restricting the passage of the shute to conform generally to the size of the articles being conveyed. The passage restricting means ensure that articles are conveyed substantially single file through the conveying shute, and consequently reduce the occurence of blockages. Various other inventive aspects of the present development will be apparent from the disclosure below and the appended claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood with reference to drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a fragmented, partially exploded, perspective view of a machine for dispensing fruit juice;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a preferred embodiment of an article delivery mechanism, contained by the machine;
Fig. 3 is a view along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2 further detailing the construction of the article delivery mechanism; and, Fig. 4 is a diagramatic representation of control circuitry and switches regulating the operation of the mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Reference is made to Fig. 1 which illustrates a coin-operated vending machine 10 which dispenses 8~
freshly squeezed orange juice. The vending machine 10 has a frame 12 which includes a hinged door 14 with a service port 16. Much of the structure of the vending machine 10 is conventional, and consequently the frame 12 has been fragmented, and certain elements have been omitted or illustrated only in stippled outline in order to highlight detail relating more closely to the invention.
An article delivery mechanism is provided for delivering oranges individually to a juice extractox 18. The delivery mechanism includes a steel drum 20 mounted in the frame 12 to rotate abou-t a generally horizontal axis 22. ~ cylindrical side wall 24 of the drum 20 is aligned with the rotational axis 22, and a planar end wall 26 is oriented generally perpendicular to the rotational axis 22. The front face of the drum 20 is open to permit oranges to be deposited in bul~, e~cept for a circumferential flange 28 which is gener-ally parallel to the end wall 26~ The side wall 2~ is formed with a multiplicity of apertures to facilitate the circulation of refrigerated air, the interior of the vending machine 10 being refrigerated in a convent-ional manner.
The drum 20 has four internal vanes which are equally spaced circumferentially above the drum side wall 24. Only one vane ~0 is specifically indicated.
8~
g The vane 30 is cut and bent from metal plate and welded to the drum side wall 24 in the orientation illustrated.
The vane 30 has a planar carrying surface 32, a planar retaining lip 34 angled relative to the carrying sur-face 32, and a guide shute 36. The guide shute 36 is - defined by an extended portion of the retaining lip 34 located adjacent the flange 28, and a closure gusset 38 secured to the flange 28. The remaining vanes are substantially identical to the vane 30.
As the drum rotates, the vane 30 conveys oranges to a higher position in the drum 20. The carry-ing surface 32 is inclined relative to the horizontal axis 22 to induce oranges to roll towards the guide shute 36 as they are conveyed. The width of the guide shute 36 is such that only a single orange 40 (shown in stippled outline in Fig. 2) is positioned at the guide shute 36 when the higher position is reached.
The oranges then tend to fall freely from the vane 30 back towards the bottom of the drum 20 and the orange 40 is guided towards a catcher 42 positioned in the drum 20. This arrangement ensures that oranges are delivered by the vanes to the catcher 42 with a certain measure of accuracy. To ensure that an orange guided into the catcher 42 does not have sufficient energy to bounce back to the drum 20, the radial spacing between the vanes and the catcher 42 is kept small (in the order of several inches). These measures are important when the drum 20 has been emptied to only a small number of oranges.
The drum 20 is supported on two rubber drive roller assemblies 44, 46 which engage the outer surface of the side wall 24. The drive roller assemblies 44, 46 are connected by a synchronizing chain 48, and driven by an electric motor S0 through a reduction gear 52. The rotatable mounting of the drum 20 in the frame 12 is completed with two elongate location rollers 56 that engage the side wall 24, and a number of smaller rollers 58 which engage the end wall 26.
The open face of the drum 20 is covered with a metal plate 58 suspended from the frame 12.
The plate 58 ensures that oranges are retained in the drum 20, and is parallel to and slightly spaced from the flange 28 to avoid interfering with the rotation of the drum 20. A hinged door 60 permits oranges to he deposited in the drum 20, and a circular aperture 62 permits the catcher 42 to be located in the drum to remove oranges. In practice, the drum 20 will be filled with oranges to a level only several inches below the door 60.
The catcher 42 comprises a trough 64 having a generally U-shaped cross-section. The trough 64 ls ~LZ~ 33 inclined to induce oranges to roll into a delivery shute 66. When the drum 20 is freshly loaded, the tumbling occuring in the drum 20 tends to deliver a large number of oranges simultaneously to the catcher 42, and there is a substantial possibility of jamming occuring between one of the vanes and adjoining portions of the drum side wall 24 and the catcher 42. In practice such jamming can dislocate the drum 20 from its position between the drive roller assemblies 44, 46 and location rollers 56, 58. The trough 64 is consequently formed with a flap 70 hinged at 72 and spring-loaded. A sprinq 74 normally locates the flap 70 in a closed position (illustrated in solid lines in the view of Fig. 2) in which the flap 70 resists the escape of oranges back to the drum 20. When oranges are jammed into the catcher 42, the flap 70 deflects momentarily to an open position (illustrated in the stippled outline in Fig. 2) which permits excess oranges to escape back into the drum 20. If desired, the catcher 14 can be constructed of elastomeric materials with intrinsic hinge and biasing properties that permit momentary deflection of catcher portions when oranges are pushed sufficiently hard against the catcher 42.
The delivery shute 66 comprises a metal trough 76 with a generally U-shaped, cross-section capped with a wire framework 78. A wall 80 integrally 8;~
formed in the trough 76 precludes the escape of oranges from an upper end of the shute 66. The catcher 42 is secured to the trough 76 in an inclined orientation, and the trough 76 is in turn secured by means of brackets and bolts to the stationary plate 58.
A mechanism is provided for restricting the cross-sectional dimensions of the passage of the shute 66 in response to the general size of oranges being conveyed. This mechanism includes suspension plates 80, 82 which are welded to the wire framework 78. A
bar 84 is suspended from the plates 80, 82 in general alignment with the passage in the shute 66 by means of pins 88 which extend through clearance holes in the suspension plates 80, 82 and which are retained by the use o cotter pins. This arrangement effectively guides movement of the bar 66 between a first position (illustrated in Fig. 2) in which the passage of the shute 66 is maximally restricted, and a second position abutti.ng the suspension plates 80,82 in which the passage is minimally restricted. An upper end 90 of the bar 66 is biased by gravity to locate in the first position, while a lower end 92 is downwardly biased by a spring 94 located about the pin 86 and seated in a spring well defined by a tubular projection 96 of the suspension plate 82.
The passage restricting mechanism ensures that oranges move substantially single file through the shute 66. The upper end 90 of the bar curves up-wardly to guide oranges smoothly between the bar 84 and the trough 86 while the lower end 92 curves down-wardly to direct oranges into a gating mechanism 96.
As oranges descend into the delivery shute 66, the bar 84 is deflected upwardly from the position in which it maximally restricts the passage, enlarging the cross-sectional dimensions of the passage sufficiently to permit single file passage of oranges.
The gating mechanism 96 includes a tubular guide member 100 of a translucent plastic. The guide member 100 is vertically oriented, and extends through a base 102 which is provided to support an upper stopper arm assembly 105 and rests about the rim of an aperture (not illustrated) in the frame 104 of the juice extractor 18. The stopper arm assembly 105 includes a pivoting member 106 pivotally secured to the base 102 and an upper stopper arm 108 fixed to the pivoting member 106 and extending through a circumferent-ial slit 110 into the tubular guide member 100. A
spring 112 biases the upper stopper arm 108 towards a rest position in which stopper arm 108 obstructs the -2~ tubular guide member 100, and an adjustable stop consist-ing of an upright 114 fixed to the base 102 and a bolt 116 extending through a threaded aperture in the up-right 114 to engagethe pivoting member 106 to permit adjustment of the rest position (in an obvious manner).
The stopper arm assembly 105 also includes a solenoid 118 whose plunger 120 is connected with a connecting arm 122 to the pivoting member 106. When activated the solenoid 118 pivots the upper stopper arm 108 from the rest position to permit an orange such as the orange 124 illustrated in ghost outline to escape from the tubular member 100.
The gating mechanism 96 includes a lower stopper arm assembly 128 which is provided as standard equipment with the juice extractor 18 which is model number 104 manufactured by Juicetree Inc. of Huntington, California, U.S.A. The lower stopper arm assembly 125 includes a lower stopper arm 128 which has been modified from the standard equipment to provide a greater bearing surface. The lower stopper arm 126 is a generally flat member with an enlarged bearlng area for supporting oranges, unlike the upper stopper arm 108 which is a generally cylindrical rod. The spacing between the stopper arms 108, 128 is arranged to permit only one orange to be located between the stopper arms.
When so located, the orange is maintained in part by portions of the frame 104 and lower portions of the tubular guide member 200. The stopper arm 126 can be deflected momentarily from a rest position in which it obstructs the entry of oranges into the juice extractor 18.
The juice extractor 18 is a prior art device and will not be described in great detail, as any appropriate juice extractor might be substituted.
The juice extractor 18 is of a type employing a hydr-aulically-operated piston which advances a generally concave attachment to pierce and crush an orange against a corresponding concave attachment. An orange drops froM the lower stopper arm 126 onto a grate which positions the orange for crushing. The piston advances a predetermined distance (at which point the orange is assumed to have been crushed) and then re-treats to a rest position The grate pivots downwardly momentarily when the piston has advanced fully to re-lease the remains of the orange, and a bin (not illus-trated) is provided in the frame 12 to receive the remains. Juice escapes during the extraction process from a conduit 128 located at the bottom of the juice extractor 18.
An accumulator 130 is positioned above the conduit to receive any extracted juice. The accumulator 130 is a plastic, electrically non-conducting, ~2~8~
cup-shaped member with an open upper end. The lower end of the accumulator 113 is formed with a nipple 132 that extends into a solenoid valve 134. The exit end of the solenoid valve 134 is formed with a spout 136 which directs the flow of juice from the valve 134.
The accumulator 130 is dimensioned to hold a bit more than one standard cupful of juice, as greater capacity is not required for the mode of operation of the machine 10.
A switch 137 is provided to detect the level of juice in the accumulator 130. The switch includes a first electrode which is a stainless steel screw 138 secured to an upper end of the accumulator 130. The metal body of the solenoid vaive constitutes a second electrode at a lower end of the accumulator 130. The switch is effectively closed when sufficient juice has been received in the accumulator 130 that an electrical path is provided between the first and second electrodes.
Means are mounted on the door 14 of the machine l0 to deliver juice to the service port 16.
These means include a stainless steel funnel 140 which aligns with the spout 136 when the door 14 is closed.
A plastic tube 142 extends from an opening at the bottom of the funnel 140 to the service port 16r and at the lower end is so positioned that orange juice received in the funliel 140 will flow into a cup 144 delivered by conventional cup delivery means 146 (illustrated in stippled outline in Fig. 1). This arrangement is particularly convenient as the door 14 can be opened for servicing of the machine 10 without extending or stressing the juice delivery means. Additionally, as the accumulator 130 and funnel 140 are physically separate, the accumulator 130 could be pivotally mounted and coupled to means which tilt the accumu-lator 130 to discharge its contents, when appropriate,into the funnel 140.
Operation of the vending machine 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 4 which diagramatic-ally illustrates control circuitry 148 and various components of the vending machine 10 which interact with the control circuitry 148. Conventional coin handling equipment 150 signals the control circuitry 148 when an appropriate number of coins have been received. The control circuitry 148 then activates the drum motor 50 to rotate the drum 20, and causes the cup delivery means 146 to deliver a cup to the service port 16. The control circuitry 148 simultane~
ously activates the juice extractor 18. The piston of the juice extractor 18 then moves repeatedly through extraction cycles involving advancement and retraction B;;~
of the piston, until de-activated by the control circuitry 148. During the first cycle, an orange may not be positioned for juice extraction; however, the total cycle time is only about 2-3 seconds, and an orange will normally be properly positioned during the second cycle.
The control circuitry 148 includes two sensor switches Sl and S2 which regulate operation of the upper and lower stopper arms 108,126. As the piston of the juice extractor 18 retracts to its rest position, it trips the switch Sl and then the s~itch S2. The switch Sl momentarily activates the upper s-topper arm assembly 107 to release an orange from the tubular guide member 100 into the space between the upper and lower stopper arms 108, 126. The switch S2 then momentarily activates the stopper arm assembly 125 to drop the orange into the juice extractor 18.
During the next juice extraction cyclej the piston 18 crushes the orange, and the juice extracted is collected by the accumulator 130. This process is rep-eated until the switch 137 signals the control circuitry ^ 148 that a cupful of juice has accumulated in the accumulator. The control circuitry 148 then momentarily activates the solenoid valve 134 to discharge the contents of the accumulator 130 to the funnel 140 ?~
(and ultimately to the cup positioned at the service port 16), and discontinues the ro-tation of the drum 20.
The control circuitry 148 permits the juice extractor 18 to compl`ete its then current extraction cycle and to return its piston to the rest position at which point - the control circuitry 148 de-activates the juice extractor 18. The control circuitry 148 is then con-ditioned to await the next user, at which point it will re-activate the juice extractor 18 to begin a new juice extraction cycle. It will be appreciated that a quan-tity of juice extracted during completion of thecurrent extraction cycle may remain in the accumulator 130. This will not normally affect operation of the machine 10, and could be avoided by stopping the juice extractor 18 in mid-cycle. However, with the particular juice extctor 18 described, stopping in mid-cycle pro-duced deleterious effects on the operation of the hydraulic piston. In any event, no appreciable advan-tage was noted in discontinuing operation ln mid-cycle rather than completing the then current extraction cycle.
Ihe control circuitry 148 registers the length of time which has elapsed since each activat-ion of the juice extractor 18. If more than a pre-determined number of cycles do not produce a cupful of juice in the accumulator 130, the control circuitry :~LZ~ 33 148 in effect assumes that the maehine 10 has been emptied of oranges, and diseontinues all operations.
An indicator 152 mounted on the door 14 is then aetivated by the control eireuitry 148 to indieate that the maehine 10 is empty.
In praetiee, depending on the size of oranges obtained, the juiee extraetor 18 will typieally run through one or two eyeles to provide a cupful of juice. The door 14 of the vending machine 10 is pre-ferably formed with a translueent eentral panel thatpermits the user to observe the extraetion cyele, to satisfy himself that he is indeed reeeiving freshly s~ueezed orange juice.
It will be appreeiated that many variations can be made in the vending maehine 10 without depart-ing from the seope and spirit of the invention. For example, the machine 10 need not be coin-operated and cup delivering means need not be supplied. In some applieations, it may be desirable to have an operator activate the machine with a mechanical switch and to have the operator position a cup at the service port.
Additionally, the operation of the drum motor 50 need not be regulated by control circuitry in response to the deposit of coins. A sensor ean be provided to detect the presenee of oranges in the shute 66, and to periodically activate the drum motor 50. The drum motor 50 could be made to run continuously; however, this would tend to damage the contained fruit. Addit-ionally, the machine 10 can be adapted for use with items of food from whieh juiee ean be extracted, other than eitrus fruit. For example, earrots could be eut into pieees of roughly uniform size and delivered to a juice extraetor in a maehine embodying the inven-tion. Sueh a machine would of eourse be differently dimensioned, and additionally the juiee e~traetor 18 would be replaeed with a juiee extraetor suited to removing juiee from the different foodstuff. A par-tieular guide strueture has been shown attaehed to each int ~ al vane for direeting oranges inko a eateher; any approp-riate guide may be substituted and in partieular aguide having a V shaped guiding strueture has been contemplated by the inventors. Lastly, it will be appreeiated that the delivery mechanism deseribed above can be used in a variety of applications other than in the vending machine 10. However, the rotary tumbling aetion of the delivery meehanism is particu-larly suited to delivery of stieky food items, such as citrus fruit, as the tumbling of the food item en-courages separation.
particularly citrus fruit, that tend to vary from an ideal shape or size and tend to be sticky and which can avoid blockages which tend to occur when such articles accumulate at various locations in the delivery mechanism.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect, the invention provides a machine for dispensing juices in response to an actuat-ing signal such as -the deposit of appropriate coinage.
The machine includes a frame having a service port where juice is dispensed. Delivery means secured to the frame deliver items of food rom which juice can be extracted individually to a juice extractor,!and an 1~ accumulator receives the extracted juice. Control means activate the delivery means in response to the actuating signal to deliver items of food at controlled intervals to the juice extractor. Sensing means detect when a predetermined quantity o juice has accumulated in the accumulator, and the control means then discon-tinue further delivery of items of food to the juice extractor and activate discharge means which discharge the predetermined quantity of juice to the service port.
For fully automated operation (as in a coin-2~ operated vending machine) the present machine is prefer-ably provided with delivery means for locating a cup ~Z~ 33 at the service port to receive fruit juice. Unlike conventional machines which commonly deliver previously processed juices when actuated, the present machine operates to freshly squeeze items of fruit, when activated.
In a second aspect, the invention provides an article delivery device comprising a drum mounted to a frame for rotation about a generally horizontal axis and adapted to receive articles in bulk. The drum has at least one internal projection for conveying ar-ticles deposited in the drum from a lower to a higher position in which the articles fall freely. Catcher means are positioned in the drum to receive the articles falling from the internal projection and include a portion adapted to deflect when an article is pushed sufficiently hard against the catcher means portion thereby permitting articles to escape back into the drum. Means are provided for conveying articles caught by the catcher means individually to a point external to the drum. In a preferred embodiment, the conveying means include an inclined shute together with means for restricting the passage of the shute to conform generally to the size of the articles being conveyed. The passage restricting means ensure that articles are conveyed substantially single file through the conveying shute, and consequently reduce the occurence of blockages. Various other inventive aspects of the present development will be apparent from the disclosure below and the appended claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood with reference to drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a fragmented, partially exploded, perspective view of a machine for dispensing fruit juice;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a preferred embodiment of an article delivery mechanism, contained by the machine;
Fig. 3 is a view along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2 further detailing the construction of the article delivery mechanism; and, Fig. 4 is a diagramatic representation of control circuitry and switches regulating the operation of the mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Reference is made to Fig. 1 which illustrates a coin-operated vending machine 10 which dispenses 8~
freshly squeezed orange juice. The vending machine 10 has a frame 12 which includes a hinged door 14 with a service port 16. Much of the structure of the vending machine 10 is conventional, and consequently the frame 12 has been fragmented, and certain elements have been omitted or illustrated only in stippled outline in order to highlight detail relating more closely to the invention.
An article delivery mechanism is provided for delivering oranges individually to a juice extractox 18. The delivery mechanism includes a steel drum 20 mounted in the frame 12 to rotate abou-t a generally horizontal axis 22. ~ cylindrical side wall 24 of the drum 20 is aligned with the rotational axis 22, and a planar end wall 26 is oriented generally perpendicular to the rotational axis 22. The front face of the drum 20 is open to permit oranges to be deposited in bul~, e~cept for a circumferential flange 28 which is gener-ally parallel to the end wall 26~ The side wall 2~ is formed with a multiplicity of apertures to facilitate the circulation of refrigerated air, the interior of the vending machine 10 being refrigerated in a convent-ional manner.
The drum 20 has four internal vanes which are equally spaced circumferentially above the drum side wall 24. Only one vane ~0 is specifically indicated.
8~
g The vane 30 is cut and bent from metal plate and welded to the drum side wall 24 in the orientation illustrated.
The vane 30 has a planar carrying surface 32, a planar retaining lip 34 angled relative to the carrying sur-face 32, and a guide shute 36. The guide shute 36 is - defined by an extended portion of the retaining lip 34 located adjacent the flange 28, and a closure gusset 38 secured to the flange 28. The remaining vanes are substantially identical to the vane 30.
As the drum rotates, the vane 30 conveys oranges to a higher position in the drum 20. The carry-ing surface 32 is inclined relative to the horizontal axis 22 to induce oranges to roll towards the guide shute 36 as they are conveyed. The width of the guide shute 36 is such that only a single orange 40 (shown in stippled outline in Fig. 2) is positioned at the guide shute 36 when the higher position is reached.
The oranges then tend to fall freely from the vane 30 back towards the bottom of the drum 20 and the orange 40 is guided towards a catcher 42 positioned in the drum 20. This arrangement ensures that oranges are delivered by the vanes to the catcher 42 with a certain measure of accuracy. To ensure that an orange guided into the catcher 42 does not have sufficient energy to bounce back to the drum 20, the radial spacing between the vanes and the catcher 42 is kept small (in the order of several inches). These measures are important when the drum 20 has been emptied to only a small number of oranges.
The drum 20 is supported on two rubber drive roller assemblies 44, 46 which engage the outer surface of the side wall 24. The drive roller assemblies 44, 46 are connected by a synchronizing chain 48, and driven by an electric motor S0 through a reduction gear 52. The rotatable mounting of the drum 20 in the frame 12 is completed with two elongate location rollers 56 that engage the side wall 24, and a number of smaller rollers 58 which engage the end wall 26.
The open face of the drum 20 is covered with a metal plate 58 suspended from the frame 12.
The plate 58 ensures that oranges are retained in the drum 20, and is parallel to and slightly spaced from the flange 28 to avoid interfering with the rotation of the drum 20. A hinged door 60 permits oranges to he deposited in the drum 20, and a circular aperture 62 permits the catcher 42 to be located in the drum to remove oranges. In practice, the drum 20 will be filled with oranges to a level only several inches below the door 60.
The catcher 42 comprises a trough 64 having a generally U-shaped cross-section. The trough 64 ls ~LZ~ 33 inclined to induce oranges to roll into a delivery shute 66. When the drum 20 is freshly loaded, the tumbling occuring in the drum 20 tends to deliver a large number of oranges simultaneously to the catcher 42, and there is a substantial possibility of jamming occuring between one of the vanes and adjoining portions of the drum side wall 24 and the catcher 42. In practice such jamming can dislocate the drum 20 from its position between the drive roller assemblies 44, 46 and location rollers 56, 58. The trough 64 is consequently formed with a flap 70 hinged at 72 and spring-loaded. A sprinq 74 normally locates the flap 70 in a closed position (illustrated in solid lines in the view of Fig. 2) in which the flap 70 resists the escape of oranges back to the drum 20. When oranges are jammed into the catcher 42, the flap 70 deflects momentarily to an open position (illustrated in the stippled outline in Fig. 2) which permits excess oranges to escape back into the drum 20. If desired, the catcher 14 can be constructed of elastomeric materials with intrinsic hinge and biasing properties that permit momentary deflection of catcher portions when oranges are pushed sufficiently hard against the catcher 42.
The delivery shute 66 comprises a metal trough 76 with a generally U-shaped, cross-section capped with a wire framework 78. A wall 80 integrally 8;~
formed in the trough 76 precludes the escape of oranges from an upper end of the shute 66. The catcher 42 is secured to the trough 76 in an inclined orientation, and the trough 76 is in turn secured by means of brackets and bolts to the stationary plate 58.
A mechanism is provided for restricting the cross-sectional dimensions of the passage of the shute 66 in response to the general size of oranges being conveyed. This mechanism includes suspension plates 80, 82 which are welded to the wire framework 78. A
bar 84 is suspended from the plates 80, 82 in general alignment with the passage in the shute 66 by means of pins 88 which extend through clearance holes in the suspension plates 80, 82 and which are retained by the use o cotter pins. This arrangement effectively guides movement of the bar 66 between a first position (illustrated in Fig. 2) in which the passage of the shute 66 is maximally restricted, and a second position abutti.ng the suspension plates 80,82 in which the passage is minimally restricted. An upper end 90 of the bar 66 is biased by gravity to locate in the first position, while a lower end 92 is downwardly biased by a spring 94 located about the pin 86 and seated in a spring well defined by a tubular projection 96 of the suspension plate 82.
The passage restricting mechanism ensures that oranges move substantially single file through the shute 66. The upper end 90 of the bar curves up-wardly to guide oranges smoothly between the bar 84 and the trough 86 while the lower end 92 curves down-wardly to direct oranges into a gating mechanism 96.
As oranges descend into the delivery shute 66, the bar 84 is deflected upwardly from the position in which it maximally restricts the passage, enlarging the cross-sectional dimensions of the passage sufficiently to permit single file passage of oranges.
The gating mechanism 96 includes a tubular guide member 100 of a translucent plastic. The guide member 100 is vertically oriented, and extends through a base 102 which is provided to support an upper stopper arm assembly 105 and rests about the rim of an aperture (not illustrated) in the frame 104 of the juice extractor 18. The stopper arm assembly 105 includes a pivoting member 106 pivotally secured to the base 102 and an upper stopper arm 108 fixed to the pivoting member 106 and extending through a circumferent-ial slit 110 into the tubular guide member 100. A
spring 112 biases the upper stopper arm 108 towards a rest position in which stopper arm 108 obstructs the -2~ tubular guide member 100, and an adjustable stop consist-ing of an upright 114 fixed to the base 102 and a bolt 116 extending through a threaded aperture in the up-right 114 to engagethe pivoting member 106 to permit adjustment of the rest position (in an obvious manner).
The stopper arm assembly 105 also includes a solenoid 118 whose plunger 120 is connected with a connecting arm 122 to the pivoting member 106. When activated the solenoid 118 pivots the upper stopper arm 108 from the rest position to permit an orange such as the orange 124 illustrated in ghost outline to escape from the tubular member 100.
The gating mechanism 96 includes a lower stopper arm assembly 128 which is provided as standard equipment with the juice extractor 18 which is model number 104 manufactured by Juicetree Inc. of Huntington, California, U.S.A. The lower stopper arm assembly 125 includes a lower stopper arm 128 which has been modified from the standard equipment to provide a greater bearing surface. The lower stopper arm 126 is a generally flat member with an enlarged bearlng area for supporting oranges, unlike the upper stopper arm 108 which is a generally cylindrical rod. The spacing between the stopper arms 108, 128 is arranged to permit only one orange to be located between the stopper arms.
When so located, the orange is maintained in part by portions of the frame 104 and lower portions of the tubular guide member 200. The stopper arm 126 can be deflected momentarily from a rest position in which it obstructs the entry of oranges into the juice extractor 18.
The juice extractor 18 is a prior art device and will not be described in great detail, as any appropriate juice extractor might be substituted.
The juice extractor 18 is of a type employing a hydr-aulically-operated piston which advances a generally concave attachment to pierce and crush an orange against a corresponding concave attachment. An orange drops froM the lower stopper arm 126 onto a grate which positions the orange for crushing. The piston advances a predetermined distance (at which point the orange is assumed to have been crushed) and then re-treats to a rest position The grate pivots downwardly momentarily when the piston has advanced fully to re-lease the remains of the orange, and a bin (not illus-trated) is provided in the frame 12 to receive the remains. Juice escapes during the extraction process from a conduit 128 located at the bottom of the juice extractor 18.
An accumulator 130 is positioned above the conduit to receive any extracted juice. The accumulator 130 is a plastic, electrically non-conducting, ~2~8~
cup-shaped member with an open upper end. The lower end of the accumulator 113 is formed with a nipple 132 that extends into a solenoid valve 134. The exit end of the solenoid valve 134 is formed with a spout 136 which directs the flow of juice from the valve 134.
The accumulator 130 is dimensioned to hold a bit more than one standard cupful of juice, as greater capacity is not required for the mode of operation of the machine 10.
A switch 137 is provided to detect the level of juice in the accumulator 130. The switch includes a first electrode which is a stainless steel screw 138 secured to an upper end of the accumulator 130. The metal body of the solenoid vaive constitutes a second electrode at a lower end of the accumulator 130. The switch is effectively closed when sufficient juice has been received in the accumulator 130 that an electrical path is provided between the first and second electrodes.
Means are mounted on the door 14 of the machine l0 to deliver juice to the service port 16.
These means include a stainless steel funnel 140 which aligns with the spout 136 when the door 14 is closed.
A plastic tube 142 extends from an opening at the bottom of the funnel 140 to the service port 16r and at the lower end is so positioned that orange juice received in the funliel 140 will flow into a cup 144 delivered by conventional cup delivery means 146 (illustrated in stippled outline in Fig. 1). This arrangement is particularly convenient as the door 14 can be opened for servicing of the machine 10 without extending or stressing the juice delivery means. Additionally, as the accumulator 130 and funnel 140 are physically separate, the accumulator 130 could be pivotally mounted and coupled to means which tilt the accumu-lator 130 to discharge its contents, when appropriate,into the funnel 140.
Operation of the vending machine 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 4 which diagramatic-ally illustrates control circuitry 148 and various components of the vending machine 10 which interact with the control circuitry 148. Conventional coin handling equipment 150 signals the control circuitry 148 when an appropriate number of coins have been received. The control circuitry 148 then activates the drum motor 50 to rotate the drum 20, and causes the cup delivery means 146 to deliver a cup to the service port 16. The control circuitry 148 simultane~
ously activates the juice extractor 18. The piston of the juice extractor 18 then moves repeatedly through extraction cycles involving advancement and retraction B;;~
of the piston, until de-activated by the control circuitry 148. During the first cycle, an orange may not be positioned for juice extraction; however, the total cycle time is only about 2-3 seconds, and an orange will normally be properly positioned during the second cycle.
The control circuitry 148 includes two sensor switches Sl and S2 which regulate operation of the upper and lower stopper arms 108,126. As the piston of the juice extractor 18 retracts to its rest position, it trips the switch Sl and then the s~itch S2. The switch Sl momentarily activates the upper s-topper arm assembly 107 to release an orange from the tubular guide member 100 into the space between the upper and lower stopper arms 108, 126. The switch S2 then momentarily activates the stopper arm assembly 125 to drop the orange into the juice extractor 18.
During the next juice extraction cyclej the piston 18 crushes the orange, and the juice extracted is collected by the accumulator 130. This process is rep-eated until the switch 137 signals the control circuitry ^ 148 that a cupful of juice has accumulated in the accumulator. The control circuitry 148 then momentarily activates the solenoid valve 134 to discharge the contents of the accumulator 130 to the funnel 140 ?~
(and ultimately to the cup positioned at the service port 16), and discontinues the ro-tation of the drum 20.
The control circuitry 148 permits the juice extractor 18 to compl`ete its then current extraction cycle and to return its piston to the rest position at which point - the control circuitry 148 de-activates the juice extractor 18. The control circuitry 148 is then con-ditioned to await the next user, at which point it will re-activate the juice extractor 18 to begin a new juice extraction cycle. It will be appreciated that a quan-tity of juice extracted during completion of thecurrent extraction cycle may remain in the accumulator 130. This will not normally affect operation of the machine 10, and could be avoided by stopping the juice extractor 18 in mid-cycle. However, with the particular juice extctor 18 described, stopping in mid-cycle pro-duced deleterious effects on the operation of the hydraulic piston. In any event, no appreciable advan-tage was noted in discontinuing operation ln mid-cycle rather than completing the then current extraction cycle.
Ihe control circuitry 148 registers the length of time which has elapsed since each activat-ion of the juice extractor 18. If more than a pre-determined number of cycles do not produce a cupful of juice in the accumulator 130, the control circuitry :~LZ~ 33 148 in effect assumes that the maehine 10 has been emptied of oranges, and diseontinues all operations.
An indicator 152 mounted on the door 14 is then aetivated by the control eireuitry 148 to indieate that the maehine 10 is empty.
In praetiee, depending on the size of oranges obtained, the juiee extraetor 18 will typieally run through one or two eyeles to provide a cupful of juice. The door 14 of the vending machine 10 is pre-ferably formed with a translueent eentral panel thatpermits the user to observe the extraetion cyele, to satisfy himself that he is indeed reeeiving freshly s~ueezed orange juice.
It will be appreeiated that many variations can be made in the vending maehine 10 without depart-ing from the seope and spirit of the invention. For example, the machine 10 need not be coin-operated and cup delivering means need not be supplied. In some applieations, it may be desirable to have an operator activate the machine with a mechanical switch and to have the operator position a cup at the service port.
Additionally, the operation of the drum motor 50 need not be regulated by control circuitry in response to the deposit of coins. A sensor ean be provided to detect the presenee of oranges in the shute 66, and to periodically activate the drum motor 50. The drum motor 50 could be made to run continuously; however, this would tend to damage the contained fruit. Addit-ionally, the machine 10 can be adapted for use with items of food from whieh juiee ean be extracted, other than eitrus fruit. For example, earrots could be eut into pieees of roughly uniform size and delivered to a juice extraetor in a maehine embodying the inven-tion. Sueh a machine would of eourse be differently dimensioned, and additionally the juiee e~traetor 18 would be replaeed with a juiee extraetor suited to removing juiee from the different foodstuff. A par-tieular guide strueture has been shown attaehed to each int ~ al vane for direeting oranges inko a eateher; any approp-riate guide may be substituted and in partieular aguide having a V shaped guiding strueture has been contemplated by the inventors. Lastly, it will be appreeiated that the delivery mechanism deseribed above can be used in a variety of applications other than in the vending machine 10. However, the rotary tumbling aetion of the delivery meehanism is particu-larly suited to delivery of stieky food items, such as citrus fruit, as the tumbling of the food item en-courages separation.
Claims (21)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A machine for dispensing juice extractable from juice bearing items of food in response to an actuating signal comprising:
a frame including a service port;
a juice extractor secured to the frame for extracting juice from items of food delivered individually to the juice extractor;
delivery means secured to the frame for delivering items of food deposited in the delivery means individually to the juice extractor;
an accumulator positioned to receive juice extracted by the juice extractor from the items of food;
juice delivery means for delivering juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port, including discharge control means for controlling the flow of juice from the accumulator; and, control means secured to the frame for regulating the delivery of items of food to the juice extractor and for regulating the delivery by the juice delivery means of juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port.
a frame including a service port;
a juice extractor secured to the frame for extracting juice from items of food delivered individually to the juice extractor;
delivery means secured to the frame for delivering items of food deposited in the delivery means individually to the juice extractor;
an accumulator positioned to receive juice extracted by the juice extractor from the items of food;
juice delivery means for delivering juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port, including discharge control means for controlling the flow of juice from the accumulator; and, control means secured to the frame for regulating the delivery of items of food to the juice extractor and for regulating the delivery by the juice delivery means of juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port.
2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 comprising cup delivery means secured to the frame for delivering a cup in response to the actuating signal to the service port to receive the predetermined quantity of juice.
3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the sensing means comprise a switch including first and second electrically isolated electrodes secured to the accumulator, the first and second electrodes so positioned that an electric path is defined be-tween the first and second electrodes by the juice accumulated in the accumulator thereby electrically closing the switch when the predetermined quantity of juice has accumulated in the accumulator.
4. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the delivery means comprise:
a drum mounted in the frame for rotation about a generally horizontal axis and adapted to receive items of food in bulk, the drum having an internal projection for conveying items of food lo-cated in the drum from a lower position to a higher position in which the items of food conveyed fall freely from the internal projection, as the drum rotates;
means for rotating the drum;
catcher means positioned inside the drum for catching items of food falling from the internal projection, including a catcher means portion adapted to deflect when an item of food in the catcher means presses sufficiently hard against the catcher means portion to a position in which the catcher means portion permits items of food in the catcher means to escape into the drum; and, conveying means for conveying items of food caught by the catcher means to the juice extractor, including gating means operable by the control means for ensuring that items of food are delivered individ-ually by the conveying means to the juice extractor.
a drum mounted in the frame for rotation about a generally horizontal axis and adapted to receive items of food in bulk, the drum having an internal projection for conveying items of food lo-cated in the drum from a lower position to a higher position in which the items of food conveyed fall freely from the internal projection, as the drum rotates;
means for rotating the drum;
catcher means positioned inside the drum for catching items of food falling from the internal projection, including a catcher means portion adapted to deflect when an item of food in the catcher means presses sufficiently hard against the catcher means portion to a position in which the catcher means portion permits items of food in the catcher means to escape into the drum; and, conveying means for conveying items of food caught by the catcher means to the juice extractor, including gating means operable by the control means for ensuring that items of food are delivered individ-ually by the conveying means to the juice extractor.
5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 in which the catcher means comprise:
hinge means for directing hinged movement of the catcher means portion between a closed portion in which the catcher means portion obstructs the escape of items of food from the catcher means and an open position in which the catcher means portion permits the escape of items of food from the catcher means to the drum; and, biasing means for biasing the catcher means portion normally to locate in the closed position.
hinge means for directing hinged movement of the catcher means portion between a closed portion in which the catcher means portion obstructs the escape of items of food from the catcher means and an open position in which the catcher means portion permits the escape of items of food from the catcher means to the drum; and, biasing means for biasing the catcher means portion normally to locate in the closed position.
6. A machine as claimed in claim 4 in which the conveying means comprise:
an inclined conveying shute having a passage for conveyance of items of food; and, passage restricting means responsive to the general size of items of food conveyed in the passage for restricting the passage to conform gener-ally in cross-sectional dimension to the general size of the items of food conveyed in the passage.
an inclined conveying shute having a passage for conveyance of items of food; and, passage restricting means responsive to the general size of items of food conveyed in the passage for restricting the passage to conform gener-ally in cross-sectional dimension to the general size of the items of food conveyed in the passage.
7. A machine as claimed in claim 6 in which the passage restricting means comprise:
an elongate passage restricting member;
locating means for moveably locating the restricting member in general alignment with the passage, including guide means for guiding movement of the restricting member between a first position in which the passage is maximally restricted by the restricting member and a second position in which the passage is minimally restricted by the restricting member, and including biasing means for biasing the restricting member to tend to locate in the first position unless the restricting member is deflected towards the second position by contact with items of food conveyed in the passage.
an elongate passage restricting member;
locating means for moveably locating the restricting member in general alignment with the passage, including guide means for guiding movement of the restricting member between a first position in which the passage is maximally restricted by the restricting member and a second position in which the passage is minimally restricted by the restricting member, and including biasing means for biasing the restricting member to tend to locate in the first position unless the restricting member is deflected towards the second position by contact with items of food conveyed in the passage.
8. A machine as claimed in claim 7 in which the restricting member is movably suspended from a portion of the conveying shute located generally ver-tically above the restricting member, and is biased at least in part by gravity to move towards the first position.
9. A machine as claimed in claim 8 in which the restricting member has an end portion shaped to guide items of food to be conveyed through the passage smoothly through the restricting member and the convey-ing shute.
10. A device as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 9 in which the internal projection comprises a guide located adjacent an end of the internal projection for directing an item of food positioned at the guide to fall into the catcher means when the item of food positioned at the guide reaches the upper position, and in which the internal projection has a food conveying surface angled relative to the horizontal rotational axis whereby items of food tend to move toward the guide thereby locating an item of food at the guide as the internal projection conveys items of food from the lower to the higher position.
11. A machine for dispensing juice extractable from juice bearing items of food in response to an actuating signal, comprising:
a frame including service port;
a juice extractor secured to the frame for extracting juice from items of food delivered individually to the juice extractor;
delivery means for delivering items of food individually to the juice extractor, the delivery means including;
a) a drum mounted in the frame for ro-tation about a generally horizontal axis and adapted to receive items of food in bulk, the drum having an internal projection for conveying items of food located in the drum from a lower to a higher position in which the items of food fall freely from the inter-nal projection, as the drum rotates, b) means for rotating the drum, c) catcher means positioned in the drum for catching items of food falling from the internal projection, including a catcher means portion adapted to deflect when an item of food in the catcher means presses sufficiently hard against the catcher means portion to a position in which the catcher means por-tion permits items of food from the catcher means to escape into the drum, and, d) conveying means for conveying items of food caught by the catcher means to the juice extractor, including gating means ensuring that the items of food are delivered individually to the juice extractor;
an accumulator positioned to receive juice extracted by the juice extractor;
juice delivery means for delivering juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port, including discharge control means for controlling the flow of juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port; and, control means secured to the frame for regulating the delivery of items of food to the juice extractor and for regulating the delivery by the juice delivery means of juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port.
a frame including service port;
a juice extractor secured to the frame for extracting juice from items of food delivered individually to the juice extractor;
delivery means for delivering items of food individually to the juice extractor, the delivery means including;
a) a drum mounted in the frame for ro-tation about a generally horizontal axis and adapted to receive items of food in bulk, the drum having an internal projection for conveying items of food located in the drum from a lower to a higher position in which the items of food fall freely from the inter-nal projection, as the drum rotates, b) means for rotating the drum, c) catcher means positioned in the drum for catching items of food falling from the internal projection, including a catcher means portion adapted to deflect when an item of food in the catcher means presses sufficiently hard against the catcher means portion to a position in which the catcher means por-tion permits items of food from the catcher means to escape into the drum, and, d) conveying means for conveying items of food caught by the catcher means to the juice extractor, including gating means ensuring that the items of food are delivered individually to the juice extractor;
an accumulator positioned to receive juice extracted by the juice extractor;
juice delivery means for delivering juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port, including discharge control means for controlling the flow of juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port; and, control means secured to the frame for regulating the delivery of items of food to the juice extractor and for regulating the delivery by the juice delivery means of juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port.
12. A machine as claimed in claim 11 comprising cup delivery means secured to the frame for delivering a cup in response to the actuating signal to the service port to receive juice.
13. A machine as claimed in claim 11 in which the catcher means comprise:
hinge means for directing hinged movement of the catcher means portion between a closed position in which the catcher means portion obstructs the es-cape of items of food from the catcher means and an open position in which the catcher means portion permits the escape of items of food from the catcher means to a drum; and, biasing means for biasing the catcher means portion normally located in the close position.
hinge means for directing hinged movement of the catcher means portion between a closed position in which the catcher means portion obstructs the es-cape of items of food from the catcher means and an open position in which the catcher means portion permits the escape of items of food from the catcher means to a drum; and, biasing means for biasing the catcher means portion normally located in the close position.
14. A machine as claimed in claim 13 in which the conveying means comprise:
an inclined conveying shute having a passage for conveyance of items of food;
passage restricting means responsive to the general size of items of food conveyed in the passage for restricting the passage to conform generally in cross-sectional dimension to the general size of items of food conveyed in the passage.
an inclined conveying shute having a passage for conveyance of items of food;
passage restricting means responsive to the general size of items of food conveyed in the passage for restricting the passage to conform generally in cross-sectional dimension to the general size of items of food conveyed in the passage.
15. A machine as claimed in claim 14 in which the passage restricting means comprise:
an elongate passage restricting member;
locating means for movably locating the restricting member in general alignment with the passage, including guide means for guiding movement of the restricting member between a first position in which the passage is maximally restricted by the restricting member and a second position in which the passage is minimally restricted by the restricting member, and including biasing means for biasing the restricting member to locate in the first position unless the restricting member is deflected toward the second position by contact with items of food conveyed in the passage.
an elongate passage restricting member;
locating means for movably locating the restricting member in general alignment with the passage, including guide means for guiding movement of the restricting member between a first position in which the passage is maximally restricted by the restricting member and a second position in which the passage is minimally restricted by the restricting member, and including biasing means for biasing the restricting member to locate in the first position unless the restricting member is deflected toward the second position by contact with items of food conveyed in the passage.
16. A machine as claimed in claim 15 in which the restricting member is movably suspended from the portion of a conveying shute located generally vertic-ally above the restricting member, and is biased at least in part by gravity to move towards the first position.
17. A machine as claimed in claim 16 in which the restricting member has an end portion shaped to guide items of food to be conveyed through the passage smoothly between the restricting member and the conveying shute.
18. A machine as claimed in claim 12, 13 or 17 in which the internal projection comprises a guide located adjacent an end of the internal projection for directing an item of food positioned at the guide to fall into the catcher means when the item of food positioned at the guide reaches the upper position, and in which the internal projection has a food convey-ing surface angled relative to the horizontal rotational axis whereby items of food conveyed on the food convey-ing surface tend to move towards the guide thereby locating an item of food at the guide as the internal projection conveys items of food from the lower to the higher position.
19. A machine for dispensing juice extractable from generally spherical fruit, comprising:
a frame including a service port;
a juice extractor secured to the frame for extracting juices from items of fruit delivered individually to the juice extractor;
delivery means for delivering items of fruit individually to the juice extractor, the deli-very means including, a) a drum mounted in the frame for rotation about a generally horizontal axis and adapted to receive items of fruit in bulk, the drum having an internal projection for conveying items of food located in the drum from a lower to a higher position in which the items of food fall from the internal projection, as the drum rotates, b) means for rotating the drum, c) catcher means positioned in the drum for catching items of food falling from the internal projection, d) conveying means for conveying items of food caught by the catcher means to the juice ex-tractor, including gating means ensuring that the items of food are delivered individually to the juice extractor;
the internal projection having a guide for directing an item of fruit positioned at the guide to fall into the catcher means when the item of fruit positioned at the guide reaches the upper position and having a conveying surface angled relative to the horizontal rotational axis so that items of fruit conveyed on the conveying surface tend to move towards the guide thereby locating an item of fruit at the guide;
an accumulator positioned to receive juice extracted by the juice extractor;
juice delivery means for delivering juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port;
and, control means secured to the frame for regulating the delivery of items of food to the juice extractor and for regulating the delivery by the juice delivery means of juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port.
a frame including a service port;
a juice extractor secured to the frame for extracting juices from items of fruit delivered individually to the juice extractor;
delivery means for delivering items of fruit individually to the juice extractor, the deli-very means including, a) a drum mounted in the frame for rotation about a generally horizontal axis and adapted to receive items of fruit in bulk, the drum having an internal projection for conveying items of food located in the drum from a lower to a higher position in which the items of food fall from the internal projection, as the drum rotates, b) means for rotating the drum, c) catcher means positioned in the drum for catching items of food falling from the internal projection, d) conveying means for conveying items of food caught by the catcher means to the juice ex-tractor, including gating means ensuring that the items of food are delivered individually to the juice extractor;
the internal projection having a guide for directing an item of fruit positioned at the guide to fall into the catcher means when the item of fruit positioned at the guide reaches the upper position and having a conveying surface angled relative to the horizontal rotational axis so that items of fruit conveyed on the conveying surface tend to move towards the guide thereby locating an item of fruit at the guide;
an accumulator positioned to receive juice extracted by the juice extractor;
juice delivery means for delivering juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port;
and, control means secured to the frame for regulating the delivery of items of food to the juice extractor and for regulating the delivery by the juice delivery means of juice accumulated in the accumulator to the service port.
20. A machine as claimed in claim 19 in which the internal projection comprises an edge portion bordering the conveying surface and angled relative to the conveying surface to retain items of fruit on the conveying surface as the items of fruit are conveyed from the lower to the upper position.
21. A device as claimed in claim 19 in which the internal projection comprises an edge portion bor-dering the conveying surface and angled relative to the conveying surface to retain articles on the conveying surface as the articles are conveyed from the lower to the upper position.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000412913A CA1200183A (en) | 1982-10-06 | 1982-10-06 | Juice dispensing machine including article delivery mechanism |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000412913A CA1200183A (en) | 1982-10-06 | 1982-10-06 | Juice dispensing machine including article delivery mechanism |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1200183A true CA1200183A (en) | 1986-02-04 |
Family
ID=4123726
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000412913A Expired CA1200183A (en) | 1982-10-06 | 1982-10-06 | Juice dispensing machine including article delivery mechanism |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1200183A (en) |
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0674846A1 (en) * | 1994-03-30 | 1995-10-04 | Zumatu, S.A. | Machine for automatically preparing and despensing fruit juice |
| EP2039256A1 (en) * | 2007-09-21 | 2009-03-25 | John Bean Technologies Corporation | Fruit juice apparatus with undesired material release detector and related methods |
| CN104825046A (en) * | 2015-05-26 | 2015-08-12 | 兰胡文 | Juice extractor |
| WO2016095674A1 (en) * | 2014-12-19 | 2016-06-23 | 邓军 | Vending machine having integrated orange juice squeezing, pouring, bottling, and media |
-
1982
- 1982-10-06 CA CA000412913A patent/CA1200183A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0674846A1 (en) * | 1994-03-30 | 1995-10-04 | Zumatu, S.A. | Machine for automatically preparing and despensing fruit juice |
| ES2116143A1 (en) * | 1994-03-30 | 1998-07-01 | Zumatu S A | Machine for automatically preparing and despensing fruit juice. |
| EP2039256A1 (en) * | 2007-09-21 | 2009-03-25 | John Bean Technologies Corporation | Fruit juice apparatus with undesired material release detector and related methods |
| US8245726B2 (en) | 2007-09-21 | 2012-08-21 | John Bean Technologies Corporation | Citrus juice apparatus with undesired material release detector and related methods |
| US10058118B2 (en) | 2007-09-21 | 2018-08-28 | John Bean Technologies Corporation | Citrus juice apparatus with undesired material release detector and related methods |
| WO2016095674A1 (en) * | 2014-12-19 | 2016-06-23 | 邓军 | Vending machine having integrated orange juice squeezing, pouring, bottling, and media |
| CN104825046A (en) * | 2015-05-26 | 2015-08-12 | 兰胡文 | Juice extractor |
| CN104825046B (en) * | 2015-05-26 | 2017-06-16 | 兰胡文 | A kind of juice extractor |
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