US2684782A

US2684782A - Cube sugar dispenser

Info

Publication number: US2684782A
Application number: US274396A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ermal J Lime; Charles S Hedges
Original assignee: CRELO Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: CRELO Manufacturing Co Inc; CRELO MANUFACTURING COMPANY Inc
Priority date: 1952-03-01
Filing date: 1952-03-01
Publication date: 1954-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 1971-07-27

Description

July 27, 1954 Filed March 1, 1952 E. J. LIME ET AL CUBE SUGAR DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R7 \L 3. l' 57 I HHWMIII I 41 52 5/ M I? H 57 g L A 22 Ii 1 H I I I 2/ INVENTOR.

July 27, 1954 E. J. LIME ET L CUBE SUGAR DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1, 1952 ia mp.

, INVENTOR. Erma/ J. Lime and y Char/es .5. Hedges. M v ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 27, 1954 CUBE SUGAR DISPENSER Ermal J. Lime and Charles S. Hedges, Kansas City, Mo., assignors to Crelo Manufacturing Company, Inc., Kansas City, Did, a corporation of Missouri Application March 1, 1952, Serial No. 274,396

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to dispensing apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for dispensing cube sugar for use in connection with beverage vending machines and the like.

In machines for vending beverages such as coffee and the like it is desirable to have a selective arrangement for adding sugar to the beverage to suit the taste of the purchaser. While it is desirable to have the sugar dispenser arranged and operated relative to the beverage vending machine where the purchaser at his own election can have his beverage without sugar, or with one or two cubes of sugar, it is also desirable that the total number or" cubes available for any one container or cup of beverage be limited to prevent the cost of the cup of beverage being excessive and also to prevent emptying of the sugar dispenser by the purchase of one cup of beverage.

The objects of the present invention are to to provide a cube sugar dispenser with a discharge port and selectively operated mechanism for controlling said port for delivery or" one cube of sugar at a time; to provide such a dispense with a movable member having a plurality of pockets which is operated to move cubes of sugar into alignment with the discharge port, said HlOV able member being actuated only at each time a cup of beverage is purchased; to provide a cube container arranged to support the weight of the principal portion of the cubes and limit the quantity afiected by the movable member; to provide a cube lifting member moved with the movable member to eliminate bridging of the cube sugar in the container; to provide a sugar dispenser with a discharge chamber separated from the main body of sugar in the dispenser and having such communication therewith as to limit the quantity of sugar cubes in the discharge chamber; and to provide a cube sugar dispenser which is economical to manufacture, efiicient in operation and easily serviced.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the present invention, we have provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view or" a cube sugar dispenser embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the cube sugar dispenser on the line 2-2, Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through the dispenser on the line 3- -3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View showing the dispenser operating mechanism from the line 4-4, Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through the lower portion of the dispenser with the control mechanism operated. for the discharge of one cube of sugar.

Fig. 6 is an elevational View of the lower portion of the dispensing apparatus.

Fig. '1 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical circuits for the cube sugar dispenser.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

I designates a cube sugar dispensing apparatus adapted to be with a machine (not shown) for vending beverages by the cup or like container. The cube sugar dispensing apparatus preferably consists of a container 2 having cylindrical, vertically arranged walls 3, the lower end or which is suitably secured to a bottom member d, illustrated as being rectangular in shape having depending legs 5 with feet 6 on the lower ends thereof adapted to be mounted on a suitable support to space the bottom t above said support suiiiciently for operating mechanism located therebetween as later described.

A suitable cover I is removably mounted on the upper end of the Walls 3 to close the upper end of the container, the cover 7 being removable for servicing of the dispenser by the addition of cubes of sugar to the container.

A funnel-shaped partition 8 is suitably arranged in the container, in spaced relation to the bottom :3, to define a discharge chamber 9 between the partition and the bottom and a storage chamber it above the partition. The funnelpartition preferably has a suitable portion such as a cylindrical, vertical wall it slidabl engaging the interior of the container wall 3, the lower end of said vertical wall it terminating in a downwardly and inwardly sloping wall 52 of substantially conical formation, said wall iii having a central, axial aperture [3 therein for passage of cubes of sugar from the storage chamber it to the discharge chamber 3 as later described.

The partition 2 preferabl rests on a rib or the like is extending inwardly from container wall 3 and spaced from the bottom it to limit the height of the discharge chamber d for movement of cubes of sugar therethrough to a discharge port it; in the bottom l of the container, said discharge port preferably being adjacent the side wall 3 as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. A shaft it is rotatably mounted in an axial bore 5? in the bottom 4%. lhe lower end or" the chat extends below the bottom fl and secured to the lower end of the shaft is a coupling 68 operatively connecting the shaft it with a shaft 23 driven by a motor 2 i. The motor 2: is preferably of the type having a gear reduction unit enclosed in a portion 22 of 3 the motor housing whereby the shaft 2% is driven at a relatively slow speed. The actor and gear reduction are secured by suita fastening devices 23 to a bar of a U-shaped oraclzet 25 having the upper ends of vertically esitendii. legs suitably secured as at 2? to the bottom wherein the bar portion of the bracket is spaced below the bottom 6. A earn member 23 is rigidly secured to the shaft it between the upper end of the coupling it and the bottom said cam having lobes and dwells in its periphery for opening and closing a microswitch 3i supported on a bracket 32 in such a manner a roller 33 on the arm of the switch engages the periphery of the earn, the inicroswitch "i being connected into the circuit of motor ill for controlling operation of same as later descr'he". The upper end of the shaft it extends axial the container 2 th ugh the discharge chaniher and for a substantial distance into the storage chamber 58 illustrated. in Fig. 2.

A rotor 35 is arranged in the discharge chainher 9 and co red to the shaft 58 by a key The bottom of the rotor a flat surface Bl which spaced from the upper surface of the bottom t by means of uitable washers or the like 39. The upper portion of the rote" as ill in Figs. 2 and 5, has a flat portio'i shaft said fiat portion t downwardly and outwardly slopin which ternih conical surface -1- portion that extends to the pe rotor. The thickness of the rotor bottom surface and the surface is .referab v slightly greater than the thickness of one or more cubes of sugar as desired. The rotor is pr vided with a plurality of pockets equally spaced around the periphery of the rotor. Each of the pockets extends v rotor and is of sufficient it de t-n for free movement of one cube of sugar through the pocket. A lifting device in the form or a coil spring or the like is sleeved on the shaft it and extends from the flat surface it of the rotor to the upper end of the shaft, said spring being held on the shaft by means of a cap secured as a screw to the upper end of the shaft. The shaft it and spring thereon are of such size relative to the aperture it through which they extend that cubes of sugar will pass between the edge of the aperture and the spring.

Cubes of sugar contained in the storage char! her it are supported on the conical wall it of the funnel member 8, and while cubes can pass through the space between the edges of the aperture 63 and the spring there is a natural tendency for the cubes to bridge the aperture so that no cubes would fall through the aperture. Also the spacing of the of the rotor from the edge of the aperture i8 is such that the cubes of sugar tend to arrange thernsaves in one layer on the upper surface of the lfitql' and slide into the to pockets and not permit additional cup-es flow out over the first layer on stack up on discharge chainher.

Operation of the motor ill rotates the sh ft l6 and the rotor to align one of the po with the discharge opening The neX tion of the rotor again turns t e shaft to move asther pocket 1 the discharge opening 55. structure, there are four poor: ts on the rotor whereby the shaft i rotor 25 are turned e quarter of a revolution on each opera 'on of the motor it. This rotation of the shaft 55 also turns the spring l l which is coiled in such a manner that the rotation provides a 1' 'ng action on the cubes of sugar hearing thereagainst, thereby providing slight agitation. of the cubes in the storage chamber to prevent bridging action, thereby causing the cuhes to move through the aperture 53.

Discharge of cubes of sugar i charge port i5 is controlled s an opening which through on slide is moved into and out of rcgi discharge port it. The ll arranged di oetrically of ccntai the lower face of the bottom The portion of the slide adjacent the opening is slidahly supset as at El and connected to Vi of a solenoid which suitably supper on the bottom slide The intermediate portion of is provided with an elongated openin which the shaft extends. The en shaft ie to resilie': solenoid, the elongated opening being so arranged flat when the solenoid is zed the slide will he toward the solen to ect registry of the opening with the dis-ch portion when the solenoid is dee zed the sp: slide to the other end of its strol: opening id is out of registry wi port is shown in Fig. 2.

A vane is secur to the the openi g vane extends through a sl and lies on the upper Si f hereof and the discharge port it when hopeni g it is out of registry therewith and is moved to discharge port it when the ope registry with said port. The vane p1 of sugar from engaging the ed es port when the rotor 35 is rotated. This ment, together with the thickne s of prevents broken cuhes or pieces with the operation of the In the illustrated str cture, the hot '*'ering with the slide and member El on an inwardly which extends through a slot the container. The vane lower end of a fiat spring end of said spring being secuw fastening devices 32 to the e tainer side wall 3 in vertical :3. vane 58.

ieinber into The wherein the opening is is out of registry with the discharge port E5, the engagement of the slide and stop member swings the vane outwardly on the spring relative to the container whereby the next cube of sugar in the pocket 23 may drop down onto the vane 56 as illustrated in Fig. 2.

In using a sugar dispenser constructed as described in connection with a beverage vending machine, the motor M is connected to a suitable source of electrical energy with the microswitch 3| in one of the leads to the motor, said lead being in parallel circuit with the control circuit of the vending machine in such a manner that when a coin is placed in the vending machine and the electrical apparatus thereof energized a relay 63 is energized to close the circuit to the motor 2! to start same operating, the time element of the energization of the vending machine circuit being such that the motor will operate from such circuit sufficiently to rotate the cam 23 until the roller 33 moves off of a lobe of the cam, whereby the arm 34 will close the switch 35. The motor 2! will then be energized independently of the vending machine to continue operation until the next lobe 2c is engaged with the roller 3% to lift the arm 34 and disengage the contacts of the switch 3!, breaking the circuit to the motor 25. There are the same number of lobes 29 on the cam 23 as there are pockets in the rotor and the lobes of the cam are positioned relative to the pockets 43 whereby when the motor 24 deenergized, one of the pockets will be "li nment with the discharge port it. Also rotation of the shaft It by the motor 2! prevents bridging of the cubes of sugar whereby said cubes will pass into the discharge chamber and over the upper face of the rotor into the pockets 23. Due to the vane 5-5 covering the discharge port E5, the thickness of the rotor, the slope of the upper urface of the rotor, and spacing between the rotor and the partition, no more than a desired number of cubes of sugar will become aligned with the discharge port I5, and the interengagement of the cubes on the upper surface of the rotor is such that additional cubes of sugar will not slide into the pocket it when the rotor is stationary. If the purchaser desires no sugar, the cubes remain undisturbed until the vending machine is again operated to obtain a cup of beverage, at which time the motor 2! is again energized to rotate the rotor and position the next pocket 53 in alignment with the discharge port l5, the cubes of sugar moving onto the vane 56 which has thin edges to facilitate such movement without damage of cubes. If the purchaser desires sugar he presses a manual switch 54 in a circult connecting the solenoid with the source of suitable current to energize said solenoid to move the slide and vane to effect registry of the discharge opening with the discharge port it and uncover said port. Simultaneously with such movement, the vane 58 enters the discharge chamber to engage and support the next cube of sugar in the pocket 43 above the one in the discharge port, which will drop through the discharge opening dS into a chute t5 and slide therethrough to drop in a cup of beverage. Upon release of the switch a spring will return the slide to move the vane 56 into covering relation with the discharge port it and the opening ts out of registry with the discharge port it and through engagement of the end of the slide and stop member 5? the vane 53 is also moved outwardly sufficiently to allow the next cube of sugar to drop onto the vane 56, If the purchaser desires a second cube of sugar he can again close the switch 54, energize the solenoid and repeat the process. Since only a desired number of cubes can be stacked in registry with a pocket 43, the purchaser will be limited to that number of cubes, although he can continue to operate the switch to energize the solenoid and efiect reciprocation of the slide.

It is believed obvious that we have provided a dispenser for cube sugar for positive and efiicient dispensing of a limited number of cubes into cups or other containers of beverage.

What We claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for dispensing one or more of a limited quantity of cubes of sugar and the like comprising, a container having a bottom and upwardly extending cylindrical side wall thereon, a cover removably mounted on the upper end of the side wall to close the container, said container having a discharge port in the bottom adiacent the side wall, a funnel-shaped partition having a periphery engaging the side wall of the container, means in the container supporting the partition in spaced relation to the bottom for defining a cube storage chamber above the partition and a discharge chamber below the par tition, said partition having an aperture therein for passage of cubes into the discharge chamber, a rotor in the discharge chamber having a plurality of spaced pockets in the periphery thereoi, said rotor adjacent, the pockets being of a thickness substantially corresponding to the collective thickness of a desired maximum quantity of cubes to be dispensed from any one position of the rotor, means for rotating said rotor to position the respective pockets in registry with the discharge port, said rotor having a sloping upper surface suitably spaced from the partition whereby rotation of the rotor effects movement of cubes over said upper surface into the p ckets, a slide member normally closing the discharge port and movable to open same for dispensing cubes through said discharge port from the respective pocket in registry therewith, and means operable by the slide member to extend into the respective rotor Docket above the discharge port as the slide is moved to open the discharge port for supporting any cubes above the one adjacent to and aligned with the discharge port whereby the cubes are dispensed one for each time the slide member is moved to open the discharge port until the respective registering rotor pocket is empty.

2. Apparatus for dispensing one or more of a limited quantity of cubes of sugar and the like comprising, a container having a bottom and upwardly extending cylindrical side wall thereon, a cover removably mounted on the upper end of the side wall to close the container, said container having a discharge port in the bottom adjacent the side wall, a funnel-shaped partition having a periphery engaging the side wall of the container, means in the container supporting the partition in spaced relation to the bottom for defining a cube storage chamber above the partition and a discharge chamber below the partition, said partition having an aperture therein for passage of cubes into the discharge chamber, a rotor in the discharge chamber having a plurality of spaced pockets in the periphery thereof, said rotor adjacent the pockets being of a thickness substantially corresponding to the collective thickness of a desired maximum quantity of cubes to be dispensed from any one position of the rotor, means for periodically rotating said rotor to position the respective pockets in registry with the discharge port, said rotor having a sloping upper surface suitably spaced from the partition whereby rotation of the rotor eiiects movement or" cubes over said upper surface into the pockets, a slide member movably supported on the bottom and having an opening therein normally out of registry with the discharge port and movable into registry therewith for dispensing cubes through said discharge port from the respective pocket in registry therewith, means operable by the slide member and movable into the respective rotor pocket above th discharge port as the opening in the slide is moved to effect registry thereof with the discharge port for supporting any cubes above the one adjacent to and aligned with the discharge port whereby the cubes are dispensed one for each time the opening in the slide member is moved into registry with the discharge port until the respective registering pocket of the rotor is empty, and resilient means acting on the slide member for urging said slide member into discharge port closing position.

3. Apparatus for dispensing one or more of a limited quantity or cubes of sugar and the like comprising, a container having a bottom and upwardly extending cylindrical side wall thereon, a cover ieniovably mounted on the upper end of the side wall to close the container, said container having a discharge port in the bott in ad jacent the side wall, a partition in the contain having a downwardly and inwa dly sloping wall and an axiall arranged aperture therein, the periphery of the partition engaging the side wall of the container, means in the container supporting th partition in spaced relation to the bottom for defining a cube storage chamber above the partition and a discharge chamber below the partition, a rotor in the discharge chamber having a plurality of spaced pockets in the periphery thereof, said rotor adjacent the periphery thereof being of a thickness substantially corresponding to the collective thickness of a limited maxi mum quantity of cubes to be dispensed from any one position Of the rotor, power means for rotating said rotor to position the respective pockets in registry with the discharge port, said rotor having a sloping upper surface suitably spaced from the partition whereby rotation of the rotor movement of cubes over said upper surface into the pockets, a coil member extending upwardly from the rotor through the partition aperture into the storage chamber and rotatable with the rotor to lift and agitate the cubes in the storage chamber and facilitate feed thereof to the discharge chamber, a slide member movably mounted adjacent the bottom of the container having an opening therein normally out of registry with the discharge port, means operatively connected with the slide member for moving same to effect registry of the opening therein with the discharge port for dispensing cubes through said discharge port from the respective pocket in registry therewith, resilient means acting on the slide member for urging same into discharge port closing position, a fiat spring havi one end secured to the container and the other end adjacent the slide, and a vane supported on said other end of the hat spring spaced above the slide and having a portion engaging the slide member for movement of said vane into the respective rotor pocket above the discharge port as the opening in the slide is moved to efiect registry thereof with the discharge'port for engaging any cube above the one adjacent to and aligned with the discharge port.

Apparatus for dispensing one or more of a limited quantity of cubes of sugar and the like comprising, a container having a bottom and upwardly extending cylindrical side wall thereon, a cover removably mounted on the upper end of the side wall to close the container, said container having a discharge port in the bottom adjacent the side wall, a partition in the container having a downwardly and inwardly sloping wall and an axially arranged aperture therein, an upwardly extending cylindrical wall on the periphery of the partition slidably engaging the side wall of the container, means in the container supporting the partition in spaced relation to the bottom for defining a cube storage chamber above the partition and a discharge chamber below the partition, rotor in the discharge chamber having a plurality of spaced pockets in the periphery thereof, said rotor adjacent the pockets being of a thickness substantially corresponding to the collective thickness of a desired maximum quantity of cubes to be dispensed from any one position of the rotor, power means for rotating said rotor to position the respective pockets in registry with the discharge port, said rotor having a s oping upper surface suitably spaced from the par ition whereby rotation of the rotor effects movement of cubes over said upper surface into the pockets, a coil member extending upwardly from the rotor through the partition aperture and into the storage chamber and rotatable with the rotor to lift and agitate the cubes in the storage chamber fa ate feed thereof to the discharge chamher, a slide member movably mounted adjacent bottom of the container and having an opening therein normall out of registry with the discharge port, means operatively connected with the slide member for moving said slide member to effect registry of the opening therein with the discharge port for dispensing cubes through said discharge port from the respective pocket in reglstry therewith, resilient means acting on and urging the slide member into discharge port closing position, a flat resilient member aligned with the slide member and extending upwardly alongside the container, means connecting the upper portion of the flat resilient member to the container wall whereby the lower portion is movable toward and away from the container, a vane secured to the lower end of the resilient member and spaced above the slide at least the thickness of one cube, and means on the vane engaging the slide whereby said vane is movable with the slide and when the slide is moved to effect registr of the opening thereof with the discharge port the vane moves into the respective rotor pocket and engages cubes above the one adjacent to and aligned with the discharge port whereby the cubes are dispensed one for each time the opening in the slide member is moved in o registry with the discharge port until the respective registering pocket of the rotor is empty.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNETED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 913,151. Nelle-r Feb. 2 1969 1,659,772 Hanson Feb. 21, 1928 l,6l,l.9l Bliss June 5, 1934 2,176,232 Warren et al. Oct. 17, 1939 ,227,167 Warren Dec. 31, 1940