GB2072634A - Beaker dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for dispensing individual cups from a stack of cups each having a laterally projecting rim bead, particularly for use in beverage dispensing machines, comprises a carriage reciprocated by a drive motor (2) and in a rest position of the carriage supporting the stack by a first cup supporting element (14) engaged under the rim of the lowermost cup. In a retracted position of the carriage, a second cup supporting element (15) is engaged under the rim bead of the next above cup, said first cup supporting element is withdrawn and cup separating means mounted on the carriage presses on the lowermost cup which is thereby dispensed. Upon return of the carriage to the rest position, said second cup supporting element and the cup separating means are withdrawn and the new lowermost cup drops, with the stack, onto said first cup supporting means. Preferably, the current to the drive motor is controlled by a switch mounted on the carriage and operated by the lowermost cup. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Beaker dispensing apparatus The invention relates to cup dispensing apparatus, particularly for automatic beverage dispensing machines, the lowermost cup of a stack of cups being held by cup support means which, for releasing the lowermost cup, is connected to a drive motor.

In the majority of automatic dispensing machines hitherto available, the cups in the stack are empty and the mixed liquid to be dispensed is poured into individual cups through pipes at a liquid dispensing station. Since the cups are empty, they do not have to be stacked tightly together, but are merely loosely nestled into each other. The cups dispensing apparatus therefore does not have to exert great forces upon the cups to be separated from the stack. In recent times there has been great interest in automatic beverage dispensing machines in which the beverage ingredients are introduced into the cups in the dry state, in a central filling station. Atthe liquid dispensing station, only the required quantity of water is added.This leads to a simplification of construction of the automatic beverage dispensing machines and the problems of hygiene caused by contamination of the mixing bowls or foodstuffs leading into the dispensing pipes are reduced. In the interest of sufficiently long shelf-life of the ingredients introduced into the cups, in these so-called "in cup" forms of apparatus, it is necessary to seal the individual cups in a stack with respect to each other so that ingress of humidity and dirt is reduced.

The separating forces thereafter required to separate the cups are substantially greater than is the case with empty cups.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a reliable and cost effective apparatus for separating stacked cups which are stacked tightly together.

According to the invention, there is provided cup dispensing apparatus, particularly for automatic beverage dispensing machines, including a cup container adapted to receive a stack of cups each having a laterally projecting rim bead, movable cup support means engageable with the rim bead of the lowermost cup in said stack and operably connected to a drive motor for releasing said lowermost cup from said stack; characterised in that said cup support means is mounted on a carriage to which said drive motor is connected for reciprocating the carriage relative to said cup container, and cup separating means are mounted on said carriage and actuated by movement of said carriage to engage the rim bead of said lowermost cup and separate said lowermost cup from the stack of cups.

By mechanicaliy coupling the cup separating means to a carriage carrying the cup supporting means, the separation of the lowermost cup from the stack of cups is integrated with the cup dispensing cycle without additional control members. In this way it is possible to achieve a very great saving in cost and an effective cup separation, even of empty cups which are tightly stacked together.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the drive motor is controlled by a switch whose actuator is operated by the lowermost cup, so as to start the drive motor. The arrangement has the advantage that the actuator senses only the lowermost cup and, otherwise, does not impede the release of the lowermost cup and the subsequent advance of the stack of cups.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective view of two units of cup dispensing apparatus embodying the invention, said units being in two different operating positions, in which for easier understanding various parts of the apparatus have been exposed; and Figure 2 shows a partially exposed axial crosssection taken through the cup container of the left-hand unit of Figure 1, including details of the associated carriage and adjacent parts.

Referring to Figure 1, this shows two identical units of apparatus all mounted on a base plate 20, for dispensing cups in an automatic beverage dispensing machine. The first unit of apparatus, generally located at the left-hand side of the drawing and hereinafter referred to as "the left-hand unit", comprises a fork-like carriage 1, an electric motor 2 and a generally-cylindrical cup container 19, extending through the base plate, in which is located a stack of cups 3. The second unit of apparatus, generally located at the right-hand side of the drawing and hereinafter referred to as "the right-hand unit", likewise comprises a carriage 1', an electric motor 2' and a cup container 19'. As between the two units, like parts are identified by like reference numerals except that a dash mark is added to the reference numerals relating to the right-hand unit.The construction of the apparatus will be described using, in general, the reference numerals of the left-hand unit although a better view of a given detail may be found in the right-hand unit.

The fork-like carriage 1 comprises a pair of arms 12, 13 spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the maximum diameter of a cup, said arms being rigidly attached to and extending from a cross-member 18. The arms 12, 13 lie either side of the cup container 19 and the carriage is mounted for reciprocating movement over the base plate 20 towards and away from the motor 2. A crank arm 22 is attached between the cross-member 18 of the carriage and the shaft of motor 2 so that one revolution of the motor shaft produces one cycle of reciprocating movement of the carriage. In the left-hand unit, the carriage is shown in its forward position at the limit of travel furthest from the motor, which position is the normal rest position. In the right-hand unit, the carriage is shown as it passes through its retracted, rearmost position at the limit of travel nearest to the motor.

In the stack of cups 3, each cup is formed with a laterally projecting rim bead as indicated at 41. The carriage includes a plate, extending between the arms 12, 13 and adjacent the cross-member 18, constituting first cup support elements 14 shaped so as together to partly embrace a cup with said rim bead 41 resting on the edges of the elements 14. In the rest position of the carriage (left-hand unit) the support elements project through suitable lateral apertures in the cup container 19 to engage under the rim bead of the lowermost cup 4 and thereby support the stack of cups (see also Figure 2).

Adjacent the free end 11 of each carriage arm 12, 13 is secured an inwardly-extending flange constituting a second cup support element 15, together with a cranked lever 10 constituting a cup separator. The lever 10 is pivotally mounted on the carriage arm so that in the carriage rest position (left-hand unit) an actuator arm 16 of the lever extends generally downwardly from the support element 15 whilst the other lever arm 17, constituting a cup release finger, extends belowthe support element 15 and is held against said element by a leaf-spring 9 which tends to pivot the lever in an anticlockwise direction, as seen in Figure 2. For interaction with each actuator arm 16, as will be hereinafter described, respective stop members 21 are secured below the base plate 20.

In operation, with the carriage in its forward position (left-hand unit) and the lowermost cup 4 supported by the first support elements 14, the motor 2 is energised so as to produce one revolution of the motor shaft. As the carriage is moved to its retracted position (right-hand unit) the second cup support elements 15 and associated cup release fingers 17 are drawn, through suitable lateral apertures in the cup container 19, to lie between the respective rim beads of the lowermost cup 4 and the next-above cup 5, on either side of the cup 5.

Simultaneously, the support elements 14 are withdrawn from the cup 4 so that the stack of cups is thereafter supported by the rim bead of the cup 5 resting on the support elements 15. As the carriage nears its retracted position, the actuator arms 16 engage the respective stop members 21 so that the levers 10 are pivoted clockwise and the release fingers 17 press down on the rim bead of the lowermost cup 4. Thus, the cup 4 is pressed evenly on either side of its rim by a gradually increasing pressure and is released from the stack of cups to drop down through the cup container into the subsequent stations of the beverage dispensing machine (not shown).

As the carriage returns from the retracted position (right-hand unit) to the rest position (left-hand unit), the levers 10 pivot anticlockwise to their rest position under the force of springs 9. As the support elements 15 are withdrawn from under the rim bead of the cup 5, the stack of cups drops until said rim bead engages with the support elements 14 and the stack of cups, with cup 5 now the lowermost cup, is supported ready for the next cycle of the cup dispensing operation.

In order to ensure that operation of the apparatus can only be initiated when a cup is present on the support elements 14 and the apparatus is in its rest position (left-hand unit), a make-and-break contact switch assembly 30 is mounted on the crossmember 18 and electrically connected in the current control circuit (not shown) of the motor 2. The switch, as seen best in the right-hand unit, comprises an actuator 31 slidably mounted for movement, in the direction of carriage travel, against the pressure of a compression spring 32. The actuator carries one switch contact 34 and, for example, the actuator may be of a plastics material in which the contact 34 is a metal insert. The other switch contact 33 is in the form of a leaf spring contact which makes electrical contact with the contact 34 when the actuator is pressed into the switch assembly 30 against the force of spring 32.

When the carriage is in the retracted position (right-hand unit) the actuator 31 is extended and the switch is open. As the carriage reaches the rest position (left-hand unit), the actuator engages against the lowermost cup on the support elements 14 and is pressed into the switch assembly to close the switch and enable a further operating cycle to be initiated. If a cup is not present, the switch remains open and initiation of a further cycle is prevented.

This switch arrangement has the advantage that the actuator 31 is withdrawn from the cups during those parts of the operating cycle in which the cups are moving down the cup container and therefore cannot interfere with their free progress. Furthermore, the switch may be mounted so that the switch is closed only in the final moments of the carriage moving to the rest position.

Although two units of apparatus have been described and illustrated, it is to be understood that dispensing apparatus in accordance with the invention may comprise any number of units.

The term drive motor mentioned throughout the specification and claims should be interpreted to include any type of drive means e.g. a solenoid.

Claims (11)

1. Cup dispensing apparatus, particularly for automatic beverage dispensing machines, including a cup container adapted to receive a stack of cups each having a laterally projecting rim bead, movable cup support means engageable with the rim bead of the lowermost cup in said stack and operably connected to a drive motor for releasing said lowermost cup from said stack; characterised in that said cup support means is mounted on a carriage to which said drive motor is connected for reciprocating the carriage relative to said cup container, and cup separating means are mounted on said carriage and actuated by movement of said carriage to engage the rim bead of said lowermost cup and separate said lowermost cup from the stack of cups.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that said cup separating means is located at that end of said carriage which is furthest from said drive motor.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said carriage comprises two arms spaced apart by a distance which is slightly greater than the maximum diameter of a cup; and cup separating means are mounted at the free end of each arm.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that each arm of the carriage carries first and second cup support elements displaced with respect to each other and located so that in a forward position of the carriage said first elements engage below the rim bead of the lowermost cup and in a rearward position of the carriage said second elements engage below the rim~ bead of the cup next above said lowermost cup.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that each said cup separating means comprises a cranked lever pivotally mounted on each arm of the carriage to constitute an actuator arm and a cup release finger, and each actuator arm is engageable with a respective fixed stop member as said carriage is moved to release the lowermost cup, thereby to cause the associated cup release finger to engage and exert pressure on the rim bead of the lowermost cup and release said cup from the stack.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that upon disengagement of said actuator arm from said stop member the cranked lever is pivoted by a return spring to a rest position in which said release finger will not engage the rim bead of the lowermost cup.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that operation of said drive motor is controlled by an electric switch the actuator of which is located to be operated upon engagement with said lowermost cup.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterised in that said switch is mounted on said carriage and said actuator moves relative to the carriage against the force of a spring and cooperates with a spring contact connected in the current control circuit of said drive motor.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 or claim 8, characterised in that said carriage comprises two spaced apart arms joined by a cross member, said cross member is connected through a crank arm to the shaft of said drive motor, and said switch actuator is slidably mounted on said cross member.

10. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterisedin that said cup container is provided with lateral openings for receiving said cup support means and said cup separating means.

11. Cup dispensing apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.