US2013633A - Beverage vending device - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 3, 1935. KELLOGG 2,013,633

BEVERAGE VENDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 15, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l I I I I I I I I .L

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I I l I l l I l l I I l I I l l l I I I I I I I I I I l l I l I I l I I I I I I I I I P 1935. J. L. KELLOGG 2,013,633.

BEVERAGE VENDING DEVICE Sept. 3, 1935. J KELLQGG 2,013,633

BEVERAGE VENDING DEVICE Filed Dec. is, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

Patented Sept. 3, 1935 BEVERAGE VENDING DEVICE John L. Kellogg, Chicago, 111., assignor to Helen L. Kellogg, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 15, 1933, Serial No. 702,551

9 Glainis.

This invention relates to beverage Vending apparatus and more particularly to a device for vending beverages from containers in which they are stored under pressure.

An important object of the invention is to provide a device of this character including a coinoperated control mechanism and a measuring chamber into which predetermined quantities of the beverage may be forced from the container by pressure on the body of liquid in the container.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of the above mentioned type, in which mechanism is provided for preventing the drawing off of the liquid from the measuring chamber until the full charge has entered the latter, and

the inlet valve, provided in a conduit communicably connecting the measuring chamber with the container, has been closed.

A still further object is the provision in a device of this character of means for preventing the closing of the inlet valve until the full charge of the liquid to be dispensed on one operation of the device has entered the measuring chamber.

Another object is the provision of a vending device for the purpose stated, which is adapted to be applied as an attachment to a standard container, such, for example, as a beer barrel of usual construction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein I have shown the preferred form in which I have thus far contemplated applying the principles of the invention.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a device in which my invention is embodied, the same being shown mounted on a cabinet containing a beer barrel, with which the device is communicably con-- nected;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of the device taken substantially on the section line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the device with certain parts broken away for convenience in illustration; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional and plan view taken substantially on the plane 55 in Fig. 2.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the reference character I indicates generally the vending device provided by the invention, the same being shown mounted on the top of a cabinet 12 in,

which is positioned a barrel l3 which may be a beer barrel, the device being well adapted although not necessarily limited to the vending of beer. The device may be applied to the barrel by inserting through the usual bung hole on one end of the latter a pipe M adapted to reach to a point near the bottom of the barrel, and serving as a conduit through which the liquid may pass from the barrel or container to a measuring chamber to be presently described. Said pipe eX- tends through a sleeve or jacket l5 adapted to be located just above the bung opening in the barrel, and, although there may be sufiicient pressure normally in the barrel to force the liquid upwardly through the conduit M, I provide means for inserting a pressure medium, such as compressed air, through a valve, indicated at Hi, the valve opening thereof communicating through a laterally protruding portion l! of the jacket or T-fitting IS with the space surrounding the pipe M, which is smaller than the diameter of the bung opening so that the air may be admitted through the latter on the exterior of the pipe.

A bushing i8 is fitted upon the upper end of the pipe l4, and has an annular flange 19, above which is an eXteriorly-threaded portion 2| screwed into the bottom of a casting 22, having an enlarged passage 23 in the lower part thereof and a passage 2 in the upper part thereof leading to the open lower end of a measuring chamber, generally indicated at 25. Between the enlarged passage 23 and the passage 24, there is a valve seat indicated at 26, a valve head 2'! carried on the lower end of a stem 28, being normally held in contact with said valve seat by means of a spring 29 surrounding said stem, and engaging at its opposite ends cup washers 3i and 32, respectively, the latter backing against a sleeve 30 threaded onto the stem, and the former resting upon a nut 33 screwed upon a threaded boss 34 provided on the top of the casting 22. Said boss is provided with a recess in which packing 35 is positioned and held in place by the nut 33, thereby providing a liquid-tight fit with the stem 28. The sleeve 30 is internally screwthreaded, and, at its lower end, fits upon an upper threaded end 36 of the stem 28. The upper end of said sleeve is adapted to receive a lower threaded end 3'! of a rod 38, which thus forms a continuation of the stem 28, the sleeve 30 providing for adjustment of the length of the stem and, thereby, the extent of opening of the valve, as will presently appear. A nut 39 is provided on the threaded part 31 of the rod 38, and is adapted to be tightened against the upper end of the sleeve 38 to hold the latter in adjusted position.

A collar 4| is positioned upon the rod 38, being held in place by means of a set screw 42. A pin 43 protrudes laterally from a boss 44 on the collar 4!, and is disposed in a slot 45 in a yoke 48 eccentrioally pivoted by means of a pin 41 to a cam 48 forming a part of a coin control mechanism generally indicated at 49 in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

Said coin mechanism need not be described in detail since per se it forms no part of my invention. Sufiice it to say that it includes a handoperated rotary element 5! adapted to be turned to operate the cam 48 when a suitable coin has been inserted in the device through a slot 52 provided in a side plate 53 shown in elevation in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Rotation of the cam 48 moves the yoke 48 downwardly, causing the same to engage the pin 43 to thereby move the rod 38 and valve stem 28 downwardly against the tension of the spring 29. This unseats the valve 21, allowing the liquid from the container l3 to be forced by the pressure thereon through the valve opening and the passage 24 into the measuring cylinder 25 previously mentioned.

A piston 54 is positioned in said measuring cylinder having a liquid-tight fit therewith provided by a packing ring 55. Said piston is secured by a nut 58 to the lower end of a rod 51, telescopically assembled with a hollow rod 58 extending upwardly through a depending boss 59 formed in a casting 8! fitting on the top of the measuring cylinder 25. Said rods 51 and 58 are assembled by means of a pin 82 extending downwardly through the rod 58, thelower end of said pin being attached to the rod 51 by means of a pin 83, and the upper end thereof having a nut 64 thereon above the upper end of the rod section 58, it being thus possible to adjust the length of the piston stem 5?, 58 to vary the stroke of the piston. Said piston is adapted to be moved upwardly to a predetermined point by the pressure of the entering liquid when the valve 21 is opened. A cap member 85 is provided above the casting 8| to which it is secured by means of screws 68, and is formed with a hollow boss 8?, into which the piston stem may extend when the piston is moved upwardly in the manner just described.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it will be noted that two circumferential grooves 68 and 89 are provided in an enlarged upper portion ll of the rod 88 and two similar grooves, identified by the reference numerals l2 and 13, are provided in the rod 58. A slide 74 is positioned in a passageway in the casting Si in which it is held by the cap member 85' and has beveled ends, identified by the reference numerals l5 and 18, said ends being disposed adjacent the rod sections 58 and H, respectively. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 2' said slide may occupy the,

position therein shown, but on downward movement of the rod 38, produced by actuation of the coin device, said slide will be shifted to the left (viewing Fig. 2), this movement being caused by a cam action of the walls of the groove 68 upon the beveled end 18 of said slide, and serving to project the beveled end l5 into the groove 12 in the rod 58. This locks the rod 57, 58 against vertical movement, but, when the rod 38, H has been moved downwardly to a sufficient extent to bring thegroove 89 into registration with the slide, the right hand end 15 of the latter will enter said groove 69, being directed thereinto by upward pressure on the rod 57, 58 produced by the incoming liquid pressing agai'nstthe underside of the piston 54. Said piston and piston rod thereupon move upwardly against the tension of a spring Tl surrounding the piston rod and engaging at its upper end over the boss 59, the lower end of said spring being located in a circular groove 18 formed on the topside of the piston 54. It will be apparent that the downward movement of the rod 38 hereinabove described will have opened the valve 21, and the latter will be held open by the slide 74 engaging in the groove 89 in which it is held by the rod section 58 until the latter has moved upwardly a sufficient extent to allow the beveled end 15 of said slide 74 to enter the groove 73. Thereupon the pressure of the liquid against the bottom of the valve 21, supplemented by the action of the spring 29, will move the valve stem upwardly, seating the valve 21 and bringing the groove 88 and the rod section II into alignment with the slide 74. The downward pressure of the spring TI on the piston 54 and piston stem 51, 58 will thereupon shift the slide 14 to the right, and the piston will be moved downwardly, thereby expelling the charge of liquid from the measuring chamber in manner which will presently be described.

It will be noted that the measuring chamber is formed with a glass wall 19, through which the incoming liquid may be seen as it rises in the chamber and is discharged therefrom. A mask 8i, carried by the piston head 54, conceals the interior mechanism from view when the piston is in its lower position, and a mask 82, surrounding the upper portion of the measuringchamber, conceals the mechanism in the upper part thereof. A port 83 is or may be provided in the castings 8! and 85 to provide for the discharge and admission of air to the chamber as the piston is raised and lowered.

The liquid is discharged from the measuring cylinder through the passage 24, and a passage 84 leading therefrom, the latter passage being shown in Fig. 3 and also, diagrammatically, in Fig. 5. The passage 84 leads to an outlet faucet 85 adapted to be opened and closed by a handoperated valve 88, which may be operated at will by the customer. Operation of said valve 88, however, will not draw off any of the beverage until the inlet valve 2'! has been opened and closed in the manner hereinabove described, it being thus impossible to obtain any of the beverage unless a coin has first been inserted in the coin device 49 and the mechanism fully operated. This result is accomplished by means of a stop valve 8'! positioned in a recess or well 88 in the casting 22, which valve intersects the outlet passage 84, and serves to close the latter except when in the position shown in Fig. 3, in which the valve openings 89 are in registration with the passage 84. Said valve member 81 has a rod 9! extending upwardly from the top thereof, said rod being connected by a link 92 with a lever 93 which is pivoted at 94 to the inside of the side plate 53. Said lever is positioned beneath the cam 48 and is adapted to be held thereagainst by means of a spring 94 connected at one end to the outer end of the lever 93, and at the other end to a screw 95 protruding inwardly from the casting 8|. The cam 48 is normally in the position shown in Fig. 3, but, upon rotation thereof, by operation of the coin control mechanism, it will force said lever 93 downwardly in manner which will be apparent from viewing Fig. 3. A latch member 98, which is pivoted at 91 to the casting 6!, has an inwardly-turned upper end portion 98 adapted to normally engage in the groove 69 in the rod section II of the valve stem. When said stem is moved downwardly to open the valve, said latch is turned on its pivot by action of the upper Wall of the groove 69 on the inturned end of said latch, and the lower end 99 thereof is moved into engagement with the top of an inner horizontal portion ml of the lever 93, thereby holding said lever in its down position and keeping the valve 8? closed until the valve stem 28, 38, ll rises to its upper position, thereby closing the inlet valve 21. In this position, the upper end 98 of the latch may again enter the groove 69, and a spring H32, connected at one end to the lower part of said latch, and at the other end to the screw 95, moves the latch back to its normal position with the lower end thereof at the right of a shoulder I03 on said lever 93, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The valve member 8! is thereupon moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, and the measured charge of the beverage may be drawn off into a glass IM, or other receptacle, by operation of the faucet valve 86. Only one drink may be thus obtained, however, without insertion of another coin, and a second operation of the above described mechanism, in manner which has previously been explained.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the construction hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

What I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a measuring chamber, a piston mounted for reciprocatory movement in said chamber, a conduit for connecting said chamber with the interior of the container, a valve in said conduit, coin-controlled means for opening said valve to thereby admit a predetermined quantity of the liquid to the measuring chamber, the same being forced into said chamber and against the piston by the pressure thereon in the container, means for moving said piston to discharge the liquid from said chamber, and means for controlling the limiting positions of said piston in accordance with the position of said valve, whereby to discharge measured charges of the liquid from said chamber.

2. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a conduit for communicably connecting the device with the interior of the container, an inlet valve in said conduit, coincontrolled means for operating said valve, a measuring chamber communicating with said conduit and adapted to receive a predetermined amount of the liquid forced by the pressure thereon through said conduit from the container when said inlet valve is open, piston arranged in said chamber for movement a predetermined distance in one direction by the pressure of the entering liquid and movable in the opposite direction to expel the liquid, an outlet conduit, a stop valve in said outlet conduit, means for closing said stop valve when said inlet valve is opened and for preventing the opening of the stop valve until the inlet valve is closed, and means for controlling the limiting positions of said piston in accordance with the position of said inlet valve, whereby to discharge measured charges of liquid from saidchamber.

3. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a conduit for communicably connecting the device with the interior of the container, an inlet valve in said conduit, coincontrolled means for operating said valve, a measuring chamber communicating with said conduit and adapted to receive a predetermined amount of the liquid forced by the pressure thereon through said conduit from the container when said inlet valve is open, piston arranged in said chamber for movement a predetermined distance in one direction by the pressure of the entering liquid and movable in the opposite direction to expel the liquid, an outlet conduit, a stop valve in said outlet conduit, means for closing said stop valve when said inlet valve is opened and for preventing the opening of the stop valve until the inlet valve is closed, means for preventing discharge of the liquid from the device until said inlet valve has been closed, and means for controlling the limiting positions of said piston in accordance with the position of said inlet valve, whereby to discharge measured charges of liquid from said chamber.

4. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a conduit for communicably connecting the device with the interior of the container, an inlet valve in said conduit, coincontrolled means for operating said valve, a measuring chamber communicating with said conduit and adapted to receive a predetermined amount of the liquid forced by the pressure thereon through said conduit from the container when said inlet valve is open, a piston arranged in said chamber for movement a predetermined distance in one direction by the pressure of the entering liquid and movable in the opposite direction to expel the liquid, an outlet conduit, a stop valve in said outlet conduit, means for closing said stop valve when said inlet valve is opened and for preventing the opening of the stop valve until the inlet valve is closed, means for preventing discharge of the liquid from the device until said inlet valve has been closed, means for opening the stop valve upon the closing of said inlet valve, and means for controlling the limiting positions of said piston in accordance with the position of said inlet valve, whereby to discharge measured charges of liquid from said chamber,

5. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a conduit for communicably connecting the device with the interior of the container, an inlet valve in said conduit, coin-controlled means for operating said valve, a measuring chamber communicating with said conduit and adapted to receive a predetermined amount of the liquid forced. by the pressure thereon through said conduit from the container when said inlet valve is open, a piston arranged in said chamber for movement a predetermined distance in one direction by the pressure of the entering liquid and movable in the opposite direction to expel the liquid, an outlet conduit, a stop valve in said outlet conduit, means for closing said stop valve when said inlet valve is opened and for preventing the opening of the stop valve until the inlet valve is closed, means for preventing discharge of the liquid from the device until said inlet valve has been closed, a draw-01f valve operable by the customer to withdraw the beverage after said stop Valve has been opened, and means for controlling the limiting positions of said piston in accordance with the position of said inlet valve, whereby to discharge measured charges of liquid from said chamber.

6. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a conduit for communicably connecting the device with the interior of the container, an inlet valve in said conduit, coincontrolled means for operating said valve, a measuring chamber communicating with said conduit and adapted to receive a predetermined amount of the liquid forced by the pressure thereon through said conduit from the container when the valve'is open, a piston in said chamber movable a predetermined distance in one direction by the pressure of the entering liquid, an outlet T conduit, a stop valve in said outlet conduit, means for closing said stop valve when said inlet valve is opened and for preventing the opening of the stop valve until the inlet valve is closed, means for moving said piston in direction to expel the liquid from said chamber, and means for preventing operation of said piston moving means until the inlet valve has been closed, said means being operative to control the limiting positions of said piston in accordance with the position of said inlet valve, whereby to discharge measured charges of the liquid from said chamber.

7. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a conduit for communicably connecting the device with the interior of the container, an inlet valve in said conduit, coin-controlled means for operating said valve, a measuring chamber communicating with said conduit and adapted to receive a predetermined amount of the liquid forced by the pressure thereon through said conduit from-the container when the valve is open, a piston in said chamber movable a predetermined distance in one direction by the pressure of the entering liquid, an outlet conduit, a stop valve in said outlet conduit, means for closing said stop valve when said inlet valve is opened and for preventing the opening of the stop valv until the inlet valve is closed, said piston being movable in direction opposite to that in which it is moved by the liquid to expel the liquid from said chamber, and means for preventing movement of said piston in the last mentioned direction until the inlet valve has been closed, said means being operative to control the limiting positions of said piston in accordance with the position of said inlet valve, whereby to discharge measured charges of the liquid from said chamber.

8. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a conduit for communicably connecting the device with the interior of the container, an inlet valve in said conduit, a valve stem, coin control means for operating said valve, a measuring chamber communicating with said conduit and adapted to receive a predetermined amount of the liquid forced by the pressure thereon through said conduit from the container when said inlet valve is open, a piston movably mounted in said chamber, a piston stem, said valve stem and said piston stem each having a plurality of circumferential grooves therein, a slide extending between said stems and having its ends formed to seat in said recesses, said slide being adapted to engage in one of the recesses of said valve stem and to be held therein by the piston stem until the piston has been moved a predetermined distance to bring one of the grooves therein into registration with the slide, the valve stem being thereupon movable to permit closing of the valve, an outlet conduit, and means for discharging measured charges of the liquid from said chamher.

9. A device for vending beverage liquid from a container in which the same is stored under pressure, comprising a measuring chamber, a piston and a supporting rod therefor mounted for reciprocatory movement in said chamber, a conduit for connecting said chamber with the interior of the container, a valve in said conduit, a valve stem for supporting said valve for reciprocatory movement to and from closed position in the conduit, coin-controlled means for opening said valve to thereby admit a predetermined quantity of the liquid to the measuring chamber, the same being forced into said chamber and against said piston by the pressure thereon in the container, pressure means for moving said piston to discharge liquid from said chamber, and means including a locking element disposed between the piston supporting rod and said valve stem for controlling the limiting positions of said piston, in accordance with the position of said valve, whereby to discharge measured charges of the liquid from said chamber.

JOHN L. KELLOGG.

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