GB2173476A - Liquid vending machine for garage - Google Patents

Abstract

The vending machine is designed to stand, for example, on a petrol station forecourt and comprises means operable to dispense deionised water and/or windscreen-washer liquid and/or a liquid for the engine-cooling system. Said means are "prepared" by acceptance of a money device which may be coins, banknotes, cards or tokens, and then actuated by customer-operated selector devices 14. Mains water from 18 may be passed through a first station containing ion exchange resin(s) 22 to produce deionised water. Said mains water may be passed through a second station 28 containing ion exchange resin(s) to produce softened water plus, at the choice of the customer, detergent from 39 or anti-freeze from 42. The hydraulic circuit may include a water meter 50; this enables the complete throughout of the machine to be monitored in order to prevent fraud. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Vending machine This invention relates to a vending machine.

Vending machines are known which consist of (a) a system for selecting and dispensing beverages which are all in liquid form, and (b) a system which is capable of identifying and accepting/rejecting a coin or coins, pre-purchased tokens or reloadable plastics cards which are inserted into the machine. Moreover, magnetically-coded cards are now common where controlled access to goods or services is needed; for example, such cards can be sold for cash at one or more locations in an area and thereafter said cards can be used at cashless out-stations (e.g. photocopying machines, food and drink vending machines, gaining admission to sports facilities,etc).

As employed herein, the term "money device" is intended to include not only pre-purchased tokens and pre-purchased cards which are made of plastics or other materials and which are coded (magnetically or otherwise) in such a manner as to render them capable of being recognised as acceptable by the vending machine but also any money whether in the form of banknote(s) or one or more coins.

In the field of the service industry which has built up around the users of motor vehicles (whether industrial vehicles like trucks, or private cars), there is nothing capable of making available either to the motorist or to the garage/petrol station worker three desirable (if not essential) liquids in an accurately measured and readily useable form.

The principal aim of this invention is to make good this deficiency.

Accordingly, the present invention consists in a vending machine which is operated by a money device (as defined above) to dispense deionised water, windscreen-washer liquid and a liquid for the enginecooling system, said machine including (1) a system such that an accepted money device either prepares the machine to dispense one of the liquids or initiates the dispensing of a selected one of said liquids; (2) control means for ensuring that the selected liquid is dispensed for a predetermined period of time; (3) storage means for a washer concentrate and an anti-freeze concentrate; and (4) other means including pipework, a watersoftening station and a water-deionising station, said other means being operable to dispense softened water containing a metered quantity of said washer concentrate and/or softened water containing a metered quantity of said anti-freeze concentrate and/or deionised water.

In a vending machine as described in the preceding paragraph, said water-deionising station may comprise a member of which one end is connected by part of said pipework to a water main and which contains ion exchange resin(s) and of which the other end is connected to a tap which is controlled by said control means. Preferably, said resin(s) is/are in the form of a replaceable cartridge.

In a vending machine as described in either or both of the preceding paragraphs, said water-softening station may comprise a container which is connected by part of said pipework to a water main and which contains ion exchange resin(s), said watersoftening station also having a softened-water outlet which is connected to two different taps which are disposed in parallel and each of which is controlled by said control means independently of the other.

In a vending machine as described in the preceding paragraph, one of said taps is connected to a first device which is such as to utilize the venturi effect to draw a metered quantity of said washer concentrate from said storage means for mixing with the softened water, and the other of said taps is connected to a second device which is such as to utilize the venturi effect to draw a metered quantity of said anti-freeze concentrate from said storage for mixing with the softened water.

The vending machine described in any one of the four preceding paragraphs may additionally comprise a unit which, upon acceptane of a money device (as defined above) by the machine, automatically dispenses a container for holding a liquid.

The present invention further consists in a vending machine which is constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings which illustrate one embodiment, by way of example only, of said machine and in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of said vending machine as it might appear on a garage/petrol station forecourt; and Figure 2 illustrates, in block diagram form, the hydraulic and electrical circuits of the vending machine of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated therein a vending machine 10 which is operated by a money device (as defined above) and which comprises a cabinet portion 11 and a canopy portion 12. In the cabinet portion 11, there is a mechanism 13 such as to be capable of accepting or rejecting a money device which has been offered by the prospective customer and there are also three selector devices 14 which are connected to a control timer unit 15.

The unit 15 is connected to solenoid valves 16, each selector device 14 being uniquely connected to a single one of said solenoid valves 16.

A pipe 17 is connected at one end thereof to a water main (not illustrated) by way of a mains isolation valve 18. Said pipe 17 has connected therein an anti-syphon element 19, a filter sedimentation element 20 and a pressure regulator 21, in series. Said pipe 17 is also connected to one end of a water-deionising station 22 by a branch pipe 23 and said station 22 includes a replaceable cartridge of ion exchange resin(s). The other end of said station 22 is connected to an outlet pipe 24 in which is disposed one of the solenoid valves 16.

The branch pipe 23 is fitted with a manually operated valve 25 and a quick-release coupling 26 for the purpose of enabling a depleted cartridge to be replaced by a regenerated or new cartridge.

The pipe 17 also has a flow regulator 27 connected therein and is also connected to a container 28 which includes an input pipe 29 and an ion exchange resin(s) unit 30, and an output pipe 31. There is a quick-release coupling 32 between the end of the pipe 17 and the pipe 29.

The output pipe 31 is connected by a quickrelease coupling 33 to a pipe 34 which is connected to a branched pipe 35 in which there is disposed a one-way valve 36. The left-hand (as viewed in Figure 2) branch of the pipe 35 has one of the solenoid valves 16 disposed therein and also a first device 37 which is connected by a pipe 38 to a storage tank 39 containing a so-called washer concentrate or detergent. The right-hand (as viewed in Figure 2) branch of the pipe 35 also has one of the solenoid valves 16 disposed therein and is also connected to a second device 40 which is, in turn, connected by a pipe 41 to a storage tank 42 containing an anti-freeze concentrate. Each of the devices 37, 40 utilizes the venturi effect as will become evident from the following description.

The left-hand and right-hand branches of the pipe 35 comprise outlet portions 43, 44.

Although not illustrated in Figure 2, a dispenser unit 45 may be provided which will automatically, upon acceptance of coin(s) for the correct value, feed a container (e.g. a cup 46) to the customer. This cup 46, or some other suitable container if the vending machine does not have an automatic dispenser unit, is appropriately placed to receive the respective liquid from one of the outlets 24, 43,44.

Lastly, it is considered to be desirable to include a meter 50 for the purpose of measuring the total throughput of the vending machine owner. The owner will thus be provided with a means of checking the amount of money which has been taken by the machine, thereby eliminating fraud.

Briefly, operation of the machine is as follows: A customer will offer a money device (as defined above) to the mechanism 13. If accepted, said money device will ensure that the timer 15 is placed in a condition such that subsequent actuation of a selector device 14 will open the respective tap. Before actuating the device 14, the customer will position the cup 46 or other container under the outlet from which the desired product will issue.

Actuation of, say, the extreme left-hand device 14 (as viewed in the drawings) will cause the solenoid valve 16 to be opened and deionised water will pour out of the outlet 24 into the positioned container for as long as the timer 15 permits. At the end of the predetermined period of time, the valve 16 closes.

It will be understood that, when the valve 16 opens, the pressure which is maintained by the regulator 21 ensures that the deionised water issues from the outlet 24. In the case of the outlets 43 and 44, however, opening of the respective valve 16 permits the softened water to flow (at the rate set by the regulator 27) along the respective branch of the pipe 35 and through the respective one of the first and second devices 37, 40. The flow of the softened water through the device 37 or 40 is such that (because the device includes a constriction or throat which has the effect of causing an increase in the velocity of the liquid passing through said throat, and a corresponding reduction in static pressure) the required liquid is drawn from the tank 39 or 42 into the softened water so that the resultant mixture has water and concentrate in optimum proportions.

Instead of the outlets 24, 43, 44 being simply open-ended pipes as illustrated in Figure 2, the vending machine could be provided with coiled extensible conduits as illustrated in Figure 1. Said conduits could be attached to the open ends of said outlets or arranged in some other manner Said conduits could have thumb-operated valves and appropriate nozzles and these would enable the motorist to "top up" his vehicle battery or the windscreenwasher tank or the radiator easily and efficiently. Figure 1 only shows two of such coiled extensible conduits but obviously there could be a conduit for each dispenscd commodity.

The quick-release couplings 26, 32, 33 are provided to facilitate servising of the waterdeionising station 22 and the water-softening station, both of these requiring periodical change of the depleted ion exchange material.

The valve 36 permits softened water to flow from the pipe 31 along the pipe 35 and through the second device 40 but will not permit flow of any liquid in the opposite direction.

Claims (8)

1. A vending machine which is operated by a money device (as defined above) to dispense deionised water, windscreen-washer liquid and a liquid for the engine-cooling system, said machine including (1) a system such that an accepted money device either prepares the machine to dis pense one of the liquids or initiates the dispensing of a selected one of said liquids; (2) control means for ensuring that the selected liquid is dispensed for a predetermined period of time; (3) storage means for a washer concentrate and an anti-freeze concentrate; and (4) other means including pipework, a watersoftening station and a water-deionising station, said other means being operable to dispense softened water containing a metered quantity of said washer concentrate and/or softened water containing a metered quantity of said anti-freeze concentrate and/ or deionised water.

2. A vending machine as claimed in Claim l,wherein said water-deionising station comprises a member of which one end is connected by part of said pipework to a water main and which contains ion exchange resin(s) and of which the other end is connected to a tap which is contrplled by said control means.

3. A vending machine as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said resin(s) is/are in the form of a replaceable cartridge.

4. A vending machine as claimed in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said water-softening station comprises a container which is connected by part of said pipework to a water main and which contains ion exchange resin(s), said water-softening station also having a softened-water outlet which is connected to two different taps which are disposed in parallel and each of which is controlled by said control means independently of the other.

5. A vending machine as claimed in Claim 4, wherein one of said taps is connected to a first device which is such as to utilize the venturi effect to draw a metered quantity of said washer concentrate from a storage tank which forms part of said storage means for mixing with the softened water, and the other of said taps is connected to a second device which is such as to utilize the venturi effect to draw a metered quantity of said anti-freeze concentrate from another storage tank which forms part of said storage means for mixing with the softened water.

6. A vending machine as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, and additionally comprises a unit which, upon acceptance of a money device (as defined above by the machine, automatically dispenses a container for holding a liquid.

7. A vending machine constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

8. Any features of novelty, taken singly or in combination, of the embodiments of the invention hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.