US3565228A

US3565228A - Coin-operated dispensing device

Info

Publication number: US3565228A
Application number: US728287A
Authority: US
Inventors: James F Young
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-05-10
Filing date: 1968-05-10
Publication date: 1971-02-23
Anticipated expiration: 1988-02-23

Abstract

Measured quantities of the liquid content of a bottle are dispensed by manipulation of a dispensing device which is controlled by a coin-operated mechanism. The bottle and the dispensing valve arrangement therefor are removably mounted on the front face of a support member. All of the coin-controlled mechanism is mounted on the opposite face of the support member with the levers controlling the operation of the dispensing valve mechanism projecting through slots in the support member. The number of coins required to permit operation of the dispensing device can be adjustably preselected.

Description

nited States Patent Inventor James F. Young 2225 Germantown St., Dayton, Ohio 45406 728,287

May 10,1968

Feb. 23, 1971 Appl. No. Filed Patented COIN-OPERATED DISPENSING DEVICE 7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 194/13, 222/2, 222/181, 222/442, 222/453 Int. Cl. G071 13/00 Field ofSearch 194/13, 3, 5,43, 60, 66, 67, 69, 70; 222/453, 181, 2

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,792,920 5/1957 Sutphen et a1. 222/453X 2,800,152 7/1957 Sloier (194/13) 3,125,253 3/1964 Hindman... 222/453X 1,020,334 3/1912 Vorcc 194/43 Primary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman Att0meyDybvig & Dybvig ABSTRACT: Measured quantities of the liquid content of a bottle are dispensed by manipulation of a dispensing device which is controlled by a coin-operated mechanism. The bottle and the dispensing valve arrangement therefor are removably mounted on the front face of a support member. All of the coin-controlled mechanism is mounted on the opposite face of the support member with the levers controlling the operation of the'dispensing valve mechanism projecting through slots in the support member. The number of coins required to permit operation of the dispensing device can be adjustably preselected.

PATEN-TED F512 3197:

- SHEET 1 or 3 .JIE. 2

INVENTOR. JAMES F. You/v6 BY Www HIS TTOENEYS PATENTEU FE-B23 :qnv 3.5 522 SHEET 2 OF 3 v INVENTOR. JflME'S F. YOUNG BY WWW;

PATENIEU F EB23IQYI I 3,565,228

' sum 3 BF 3 INVENTOR. JUN/5S F; YOU/V6 BY W7 W6 HIS HTTOENE Y5 COIN-OPERATED DISPENSING DEVICE This invention relates to a dispensing device and more particularly to a I coin-operated dispensing device for use in dispensing measured quantities of liquids from a bottle.

A considerable loss of profits in the sale of alcoholic beverages is experienced by many small taverns, restaurants and the like, partly because of the failure of the employees to obtain payment for all of the drinks sold. Therefore, to insure payment for all drinks sold it is frequently necessary for the smaller restaurants and the like to have additional employees to handle the bottled alcoholic beverages.

It is an object of this invention to provide a coin-controlled device for dispensing liquid from bottles, the bottles used therewith being prominently displayed on the front of the dispensing device. Also, it is an object of this invention to provide such a dispensing device in which a valve mechanism is used for dispensing measured quantities of liquid, both the valve mechanism and the bottle being on the front of the housing and removable therefrom, whereby empty bottles can easily be replaced and the dispensing mechanism routinely cleaned.

Very elaborate systems for counting or computer-controlling the dispensing of alcoholic beverages and the like have been devised. These, however, are typically either difiicult to keep clean and/or are too expensive for the smaller business places. Accordingly, a further object of this invention is to provide a coin-controlled mechanism 1 which is simple in operation and, therefore, inexpensive and reliable.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description. It will also become apparent that this invention is not limited to the dispensing of alcoholic beverages but could be used for the dispensing of any sort of liquid from a bottle.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts cut away, of the dispensing apparatus of this invention with a bottle supported in position for dispensing liquid therefrom;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, with parts cut away, of the apparatus of FIG. 1 as viewed generally from the rear and opposite side from that shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view, with parts broken away and in cross section of a part of the apparatus viewed in the direction of arrows 3-3 of FIG. 2; v

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspectiveview of a portion of the apparatus of this invention removed from its housing. The perspective of FIG. 4 is taken from the same side of the apparatus as FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and in cross section, of a coin chute and a sensing mechanism fonning part of the apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the coin chute and the sensing mechanism and showing their relationship to other parts of the mechanism taken from a side generally opposite that from which the exploded perspective view of FIG. 4 is taken; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of an electric circuit employed in the apparatus of this invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the dispensing apparatus of this invention is generally designated 10 and includes ahousing 12 of a boxlike construction having a vertical front plate 14. As will become apparent, the vertical front plate 14 constitutes a support plate upon which the entire mechanism disclosed herein is mounted. A support arm 16 extends vertically in front of the housing 12 and is affixed to the front plate 14 thereof by a U- shaped clamp 18 and a pair of support. brackets 20 mounted on the lower end of the support arm 16 and the front plate 14 by screws 22. The support brackets 20 have mutually parallel portions projecting forwardly from the front plate 14 and straddling the support arm 16. Removably supported on the support brackets 20 is a dispensing valve mechanism 24 having a hollow, rubber sleeve or stopper 26 received within the neck of a glass beverage bottle 28. The stopper 26 is shaped as a truncated cone and, accordingly, a fluidtight seal is obtained between its outer surface and the neck opening to the bottle 28. The bottle 28 is inverted so as to freely dispense the liquid content thereof. The dispensing valve assembly 24 further includes upper and

lower cap members

30 and 32, respectively, interconnected by a yoke 34 extending between the support plates 20. Lugs 36 extend from each side of the yoke 34 and rest in notches 38 cut in the top of the support plates 20. Only one such lug 36 can be seen in FIG. I, the other lug 36 being hidden by the upper part of the yoke 34.

The bottle 28 is supported in its inverted position by the stopper 26 and a metal liquid conduit (now shown) therein. Further support for the bottle 28 is provided by a releasable clamp assembly 40 including a generally circular clamp member 42 cupped over the inverted bottom of the bottle 28. Affixed to the clamp member 42 is a clamp arm 44 having a lug or the like (not shown) vertically movable in a slot 46 cut in the forward face of the support arm 16. To prevent unauthorized removal of the bottle 28, the clamp arm 44 and, accordingly, the clamp member 42 may be locked by keyoperated means (not shown) in any desired vertical height above the valve assembly 24 permitted by the length of the slot 46.

The valve assembly 24 includes a valve member 48 confined within a bowl 50. A valve-operating member, generally designated 52, including an integral sleeve 54 and a valveoperating arm 56, is vertically movable and guided in its movement by a liquid conduit 58, which depends centrally beneath the lower cap member 32 and is surrounded by the sleeve 54. A valve rod 60 projects downwardly from the yoke 34 to and through the valve operating arm 56. The portion of the rod 60 passing through the arm 56 is of a reduced diameter so that the rod 60 is raised when the valve-operating member 52 is raised. Coiled about the valve rod 60 is a spring 62 biasing the valve operating member 52 downwardly. Further constructional details of the valve assembly 24 are not important to this invention.

Briefly, with the valve member 48 in the lower position illustrated in FIG. 1, liquid flows freely from the bottle 28 through the conduit (not shown) in the stopper 26 to fill the cavity within the bowl 50. Initial upward movement of the valveoperating member 52 causes the valve member 48 to move upwardly and close the conduit in the stopper 26. Upon continued upward movement of the valve-operated member 52, an orifice (not shown) in the bottom of the valve assembly 24 is opened to permit the liquid confined within the bowl 50 to pass downwardly through the conduit 58 and the valve rod 60 causes an air valve (not shown) in the upper cap member 30 to be opened whereby the measuredquantity of liquid within the bowl 50 is dispensed. Subsequent downward movement of the valve-operating member 52 first causes closure of the air valve controlled by the valve rod 60 and closure of the liquid valve in the lower conduit 58. Thereafter, the valve member 48 drops and the cavity in the bowl 50 is again filled with liquid from the bottle 28.

The elements identified by the reference characters 16 through 62 are well known. Dispensing devices of this type are in common used for dispensing measured quantities of alcoholic beverages. The valve-operating arm 56 is designed to be engaged either by hand or by the top of a drinking glass so that upon one operation thereof a predetermined quantity of alcoholic beverage is dispensed.

In accordance with this invention, the movement of a valveoperating member of a liquid-dispensing device, such as the valve-operating member 52 shown in FIG. 1, to dispense a measured quantity of liquid is coin-controlled. For convenience in the continued description of the coin-controlled mechanism, the various parts of the housing 12, in addition to the front plate 14, are identified as a right side plate 64, a back plate 66 and a left side plate 68. It will be observed in FIG. 2 that portions of the back plate 66 and the left side plate 68 are cut away to disclose the mechanism within the housing 12. The entire mechanism for controlling the operation of the valve-operating member 52 is mounted within the housing 12 on the front plate 14 and on a frame, generally designated 70,

| l l l comprising a frame front plate 72 affixed in any suitable fashion to the rear face of the housing front plate 14 and a frame side plate 74 extending generally perpendicularly from one side of the frame front plate 72 into the interior of the housing 12 and generally parallel to the

housing side plates

64 and 68.

Referring to FlGS. 1, 2 and 4, the valve-operating arm 56 is engaged and operated by a valve-operating lever 76 having a notch 78 in its outer end with diverging, bent upper and

lower fingers

80 and 82, respectively, forming a yoke which straddles and confines the valve-operating arm 56 and the valve rod 60. The valve-operating lever 76 projects through a slot 84 in the housing front plate 14 and a mating slot 86 in the frame front plate 72. The inner end of the valve-operating lever 76 is pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis upon a portion 74a of the frame side plate 74. Portion 74a is bent from the plane of the rest of the side plate 74 to align the valve operating lever 76 with the

slots

84 and 86 and with the valve-operating arm 56. The pivotal mounting of the lever 76 is illustrated as comprising a threaded pivot pin 88 projecting through an aperture 89 in the inner end of the lever 76 and threaded into an aperture 90 in the bent portion 740 of the frame. Of course, it will be understood that various other arrangements may be used for pivotally mounting the lever 76 on the frame portion 74a.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the valve-operating lever 76 is operatively connected by a connecting link 92 to a dispensing arm or lever 94. The connecting link 92 is pivotally connected intermediate the ends of each of the

levers

76 and 94 by

pivot pins

96 and 98, respectively. The dispensing arm 94 projects through a slot 100 in the frame front plate 72 and a mating slot 102 (FIG. 1) in the housing front plate 14 and terminates in a handle portion 104 extending adjacent the valve assembly 24. The dispensing lever 94 is pivotally mounted intermediate the handle portion 104 and the point of pivotal connection to the connecting link 92 to the frame side plate 74. For this purpose a pivot pin 166 projects through aligned apertures 108 and 110 in the dispensing arm 94 and the frame side plate 74, respectively, and a spacer sleeve 112 therebetween. One end of a coil spring 114 is connected to the inner end of the dispensing arm 94, biasing it downwardly. For convenience, the other end of the coil spring 114 may be connected to the inner end of the valve-operating arm 76 just above its pivot pin 88.

Because the valve-operating lever 76 and the dispensing arm 94 are mounted on vertically spaced, parallel horizontal axes, the handle portion 104 of the dispensing lever 94 may be manually pulled downwardly to overcome the bias of the spring 114 to cause the outer, notched end of the valveoperating lever 76 and, accordingly, the valve operating member 52 to be moved vertically upwardly for dispensing a measured quantity of liquid. As will be described below, such movement of the valve-operating lever 76 is, in accordance with this invention, prevented unless an appropriate, predetermined number of coins have been inserted through a coin slot 116 in the housing front plate 14. Unless the appropriate number of coins have been inserted into the coin slot 116, a locking cam or cam plate 118, shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, having a lobe 120 positioned in the path of the valve-operating lever 76, prevents movement thereof. The cam plate 118 is rotatably mounted on the frame front plate 72 by a pin 122 (FIG. 4) to which a nut 124 is threaded. To appropriately position the cam plate 118 within the housing 12, a spacer sleeve 126 may be provided through which the pin 122 extends.

Pivotally connected to the cam plate 118 is the lower end of a generally vertically oriented, elongate connecting link 128, the top end of which is connected as by a pin 130 and nut 131 to the lower end of a plunger 132 of an electrically operated solenoid 134 clamped to the top of the frame 70 by a strap 136. The connection of the link 128 to the cam plate 118 is by a pivot pin 138 generally horizontally offset from the center of rotation thereof. Accordingly, upon each energization of the solenoid 134 causing it to retract its plunger 132, the cam plate 118 is rotated through a small angle in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. Thus, upon actuation of the solenoid 134, the cam plate 118 would be rotated in a counterclockwise direction sufiicient to move the lobe from above the valve-operating lever 76 to permit it to be pivoted to in turn move the valve-operating member 52 upwardly.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation of the solenoid 134 is controlled in part by three sensing

switches

140, 142 and 144 mounted on the right-hand side of the frame side plate 74 as viewed from the front of the apparatus 10. These sensing switches include sensing arms 146, 148 and 150, respectively, having bent ends which project into V-shaped notches 1 52, 154 and 156, respectively, formed in one edge and at the lower end of a coin chute 158. The top end of the coin chute 158 is notched as indicated at 160 and opens to the coin slot 116 in the front plate 14. A plurality of screws 162 affix the coin chute 158 to the right side of the frame sideplate 74. The lower part of the coin chute 158 is spaced from the frame sideplate 74 by part of a bracket 186 to be described below and, accordingly, the uppen'nost screw 162 passes through a spacer 163 as illustrated in FIG. 6.

Coins inserted through the slot 116 will drop into the chute 158 and the first such coin will come to rest at the lower end of the chute 158 upon a coin release plate or trough 164 mounted by a pivot pin 166 on the frame side plate 74. In this rest position of the first coin, the sensing arm 146 will be pivoted or placed under pressure to close the switch 140. If, thereafter, another coin is inserted through the slot 116, it comes to rest on the first coin and the switch 142 will similarly be closed. As obvious, a third coin will serve to close the switch 144.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 7, switch contacts 140a, 142a and 144a of the

switches

140, 142 and 144, respectively, are arranged in circuit with a three-position selector switch 168 mounted on a rearwardly extending portion 74b of the frame sideplate 74 and having a selector knob 170 (FIG. 1) accessible from the rear of the housing 12. The solenoid 134 is schematically illustrated in FIG. 7 by its coil 134a. If the contact arm, designated 1680, of the selector switch 168 is positioned as illustrated in FIG. 7, the switch contacts 140a and the solenoid coil 134a are placed in series across the input to the circuit. This input can be house current. Accordingly, a single coin in the chute 158 depressing the sensing arm 146 and thereby closing the switch 140 will cause the solenoid 134 to be energized. The solenoid 134 upon being energized will rotate the cam plate 118 as previously described and will remain energized until the coin is removed from the chute 158 as will be further described below. If the selector switch contact ann 168a is placed into its intermediate position, it is apparent from FIG. 7 that the sensing switch contacts 140a and 142a will both be placed in series with the solenoid coil 134a and, therefore, two coins must be inserted into the chute 158 before the solenoid 134 is energized. Finally, the third position of the selector switch contact arm 168a shown in FIG. 7 is an open or dead contact. When the selector switch contact arm 168a is so positioned, the connection between the selector switch 168 and the three

sensing switches

140, 142 and 144 is open circuited. However, these three sensing switches are connected in series and the third sensing switch contact 144a is connected by a circuit line 172 in series with the solenoid coil 134a. Accordingly, with the selector switch contact arm 1680 in its third, open circuit position, three coins would be required to close all three

sensing switches

140, 142 and 144 and energize the solenoid 134. As illustrated in FIG. 2, suitable indicia may be located on the housing back plate 66 adjacent the pointer of the switch knob 170 to indicate the number of coins required to energize the solenoid 134.

The primary purpose of the coin release member 164 is to close the bottom of the coin chute 158 until the appropriate number of coins have been inserted therein. It serves the additional purpose of returning the coins in the event the user of the apparatus herein wishes to recover the inserted coins. The illustrated coin return mechanism is a purely mechanical mechanism. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, an elongate notch 74 is cut in the lower end of the coin chute 158 at its edge op- .posite from the V-shaped notches 152, 154 and 156. The notch 174 is sufficiently long that a coin could pass freely therethrough down along the bottom surface of the coin release trough 164 and out through a coin return slot 176 in the housing front plate 14. However, the notch 174 is normally partially closed by a channel piece 178 which is slidable along the same edge of the coin chute 158 as the notch 174. The channel piece 178 is biased to a position partially closing the notch 174 by a spring 180 connected at one end to a flange 182 projecting from the top of the channel piece 178 and connected at its other end to a flange 184 on an L-shaped bracket 186 mounted on the frame sideplate 74. The bracket 186 partially underlies the coin chute 158 and is connected to the frame sideplate 74 by two of the previously mentioned screws 162. The bracket 1W6 also has a forwardly extending lug 188 to which a coin return lever 190 is pivotally connected by a threaded pivot pin 192 and a nut 194. The coin return lever 1% passes through a slot 196 in the housing front plate 14 so that it may be conveniently manually operated. The inner end of the coin return lever 190 is shaped as a tongue 198 engag ing with a slot 200 of a lug portion 202 of the channel piec 178 such that, upon downward manual movement of the por tion of the coin return lever 1% outside of the housing 12, th j channel piece 178 is moved upwardly, thereby exposing the entire notch 174 and permitting coins to roll down the coi i release member 164 and out through the coin return slot 176.

As long as the appropriate number of coins are in the coin chute 158 to energize the solenoid 134, the solenoid 134 will remain energized. As already noted, the energization of the solenoid 134 causes the cam plate 118 torotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 permitting thereby the pivotal movement of the valve-operating lever 76 to dispense a measured quantity of liquid. Although the valve-operating lever 76 can be manually raised, such movement is best accomplished by manipulation of the dispensing arm 94. In any event, the pivotal movement of the valve-operating lever 94 is also transmitted through a lever system to the coin release member 164. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, this'lever system includes a coin release lever 204 connected at its lower end by a pivot pin 2% and a nut 208 to a sideplate portion of the coin release chute 164 and pivotally connected at its upper end by a pivot pin 210 to one end of a link 212 which is pivoted at its other end to the frame sideplate 74 by a pivot pin 214. An elongate connecting rod or pin 216 connects generally the l midportions of both the link 212 and the connecting link 92. When the outer end of the dispensing arm 94 is manually pulled downwardly, the accompanying upward movement of the connecting link 92 will cause the connecting link 212 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 4, about the pivot pin 214. Due to the pivotal connection 210 between the link 212 and the coin release lever 204, the coin release trough 164 will be pivoted about its pivot pin 166 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 and a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6. The pivoted position of the coin release member 164 is shown by phantom lines 164a in FIG. 5. When the coin release member 164 is in this position, the coins will drop down through the open bottom of the coin chute 158 and, consequently, become disengaged from any of the sensing arms 146, 148 and 150. The solenoid 134 is thereby deenergized.

At this point in the operation of the device, the outer end of the dispensing arm 94 is held downwardly. Accordingly, a portion of the valve-operating lever 76 will be higher in the slot 86 than illustrated in FIG. 3 and prevent return of the cam plate 11%. As soon as the dispensing arm 94 is released, the spring 114 connected between the dispensing lever 94 and the valveoperating lever 76, as well as the spring 62 forming part of the valve assembly 24, will cause the

levers

76 and 94 and the link 92 to return to their original positions illustrated in FIG. 2.

Simultaneously, the lever system including the elongate rod or pin 216, the link 212 and the coin release lever 204 will return the coin release member 164 back to the full line position shown in FIG. 5. Essentially simultaneously, a coil spring 218 connected between a lug 220 on the frame front plate 72 and a lug 222 near the top of the connecting link 128 will cause the connecting link 128 to be drawn downwardly, which move ment is accompanied by a return rotation of the cam plate 118 to the position thereof illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus it is seen that, upon the release of the dispensing arm 94 after dispensing a measured quantity of liquid, the entire device is automatically reset for receiving additional coins.

An indicator light 224 (FIG. 7) is mounted in a lamp housing 226 (FIG. 2) on the housing front plate 14 and may be covered by a lens 228 (FIG. 1). The indicator light 224 is in series with the solenoid coil 134a and will, therefore, be energized and deenergized therewith. The indicator light 224, of course, serves to indicate whether or not the appropriate number of coins have been placed in the coin slot 116 to enable the dispensing of a measured quantity of liquid.

As apparent in FIG. 1, the front plate 14 is shown to be of a greater peripheral dimension than the rest of the housing 12. It is intended that the housing 12 be inserted in a larger box or housing which would be locked except when it is desired to remove the coins from the bottom part thereof or when it is desired to change the setting of the selector switch 168. The larger box or housing could support several devices 10, the front plate 14 herein serving as the primary support for the dispensing and the coin-operated means described herein.

To avoid confusion in the drawings, several minor parts, such as nuts and screws and the like, have either not been shown or shown in schematic fashion as are some of the various pivot means. Further, the complete construction of the housing has not been described in detail. For example, the housing 12 could be of a welded construction mounted as by screws 230 (FIG; 1) to the housing front plate 14. Other screws (not shown) may be used to attach the frame to the housing 12. Also, the various electrical connections inside of the housing 12 have not been illustrated to avoid confusion with the mechanical operating parts, it being understood that the various wiring cables and the like would be located inside the housing 12 with a suitable external connector.

As apparent from the foregoing description, the mechanism of this invention is of a simple and reliable design with essentially all of the parts mounted on the support plate or front plate 14, the plate 14 serving as a divider between the externally and removably mounted valve dispensing means 24 and bottle 28 and the internally mounted coin-operated mechanism. The coin-operated mechanism is compact as well as relatively unobtrusive yet the bottled beverage may be prominently displayed. When a beverage bottle is emptied, it can be easily removed by first releasing the clamp mechanism 41) and then removing the bottle 28 and the valve mechanism 24 from the support plates 20. The bottle 28 and the dispensing valve mechanism 24 are then inverted to an upright position and the valve mechanism 24 removed. Reassembly is obviously accomplished by reversing these steps. The valve mechanism 24, when removed, can easily be cleaned and reused.

Although the presently preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of the invention various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

lclaim:

1. A liquid dispensing device including a generally vertical support plate, liquid-dispensing valve means removably mounted on one face of said support plate and removably supporting an inverted bottle, said liquid-dispensing valve means including movable valve-operating means for dispensing measured quantities of liquid from said bottle, and a coin-controlled mechanism mounted on the other side of said support plate in fixed relation thereto including a valve-operating member projecting through said support plate and operatively engaged with said valve-operating means for controlling the movement thereof, and further including a manually operable dispensing member accessible from the same side of said support plate as said liquid-dispensing valve means, and means located on said other side of said support plate interconnecting said dispensing member and said valve-operating member for moving said valve-operating member, and accordingly said valve-operating means, to open said liquid-dispensing valve means upon manual movement of said dispensing member.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said coin-controlled mechanism further includes lock means releasably locking said valve-operating member to prevent movement thereof.

3. A liquid-dispensing device including a generally vertical support plate; liquid-dispensing valve means removably mounted on one face of said support plate and removably supporting an inverted bottle, said liquid-dispensing valve means including vertically movable valve-operating means for dispensing measured quantities of liquid from said bottle; and a coin-controlled mechanism mounted on the other side of said support plate in fixed relation thereto and including a valve-operating lever projecting through a slot in said support plate and operatively engaged with said valve-operating means for controlling the movement thereof, lock means releasably locking said valve operating lever to prevent movement thereof, a coin chute opening to a slot in said support plate,

and an electric circuit including a plurality of sensing switch means positioned to sense the presence of one or more coins in said coin chute, electrically operable means controlling said lock means, and selector switch means for selectively connecting one or more of said sensing switch means in circuit with said electrically operable means.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said lock means comprises cam means positioned in the path of movement of said valve-operating lever and said electrically operable means includes a solenoid having a plunger connected to said cam means for controlling the position thereof.

5. A liquid-dispensing device including a generally vertical support plate; liquid-dispensing valve means removably mounted on one face of said support plate and removably supporting an inverted bottle. said liquid-dispensing valve means including vertically movable valve-operating means for dispensing measured quantities of liquid from said bottle; and a coin-controlled mechanism mounted on the other side of said support plate in fixed relation thereto and including a valve-operating lever projecting through a slot in said support plate and operatively engaged with said valve-operating means for controlling the movement thereof, a manually operable dispensing arm projecting through a slot in said support plate, said dispensing arm and said valve-operating lever being mounted for pivotal movement about vertically spaced, parallel and horizontal axes, and a link interconnecting said dispensing arm and said valve-operating lever whereby said valve-operating lever is pivoted upon pivotal movement of said dispensing arm.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said coin-controlled mechanism further includes a cam plate having a lobe normally positioned in the path of movement of said valve-operating lever, an electrically operable solenoid operatively associated with said cam plate for rotating said cam plate to l remove said lobe from the path of movement of said valve operating lever, and electric circuit means including coin sensing switches controlling the operation of said solenoid.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 further including a coin chute for receiving a plurality of coins, a coin release member pivotally mounted adjacent said coin chute and normally lblocking the lower end of said coin chute to support coins therein, and means interconnecting said coin release member and said valve-operating lever and operative to pivot said release member away from a coin support position as a measured quantity of liquid is dispensed.

Claims

1. A liquid-dispensing device including a generally vertical support plate, liquid-dispensing valve means removably mounted on one face of said support plate and removably supporting an inverted bottle, said liquid-dispensing valve means including movable valve-operating means for dispensing measured quantities of liquid from said bottle, and a coin-controlled mechanism mounted on the other side of said support plate in fixed relation thereto including a valve-operating member projecting through said support plate and operatively engaged with said valveoperating means for controlling the movement thereof, and further including a manually operable dispensing member accessible from the same side of said support plate as said liquid-dispensing valve means, and means located on said other side of said support plate interconnecting said dispensing member and said valveoperating member for moving said valve-operating member, and accordingly said valve-operating means, to open said liquiddispensing valve means upon manual movement of said dispensing member.

3. A liquid-dispensing device including a generally vertical support plate; liquid-dispensing valve means removably mounted on one face of said support plate and removably supporting an inverted bottle, said liquid-dispensing valve means including vertically movable valve-operating means for dispensing measured quantities of liquid from said bottle; and a coin-controlled mechanism mounted on the other side of said support plate in fixed relation thereto and including a valve-operating lever projecting through a slot in said support plate and operatively engaged with said valve-operating means for controlling the movement thereof, lock means releasably locking said valve operating lever to prevent movement thereof, a coin chute opening to a slot in said support plate, and an electric circuit including a plurality of sensing switch means positioned to sense the presence of one or more coins in said coin chute, electrically operable means controlling said lock means, and selector switch means for selectively connecting one or more of said sensing switch means in circuit with said electrically operable means.

5. A liquid-dispensing device including a generally vertical support plate; liquid-dispensing valve means removably mounted on one face of said support plate and removably supporting an inverted bottle, said liquid-dispensing valve means including vertically movable valve-operating means for dispensing measured quantities of liquid from said bottle; and a coin-controlled mechanism mounted on the other side of said support plate in fixed relation thereto and including a valve-operating lever projecting through a slot in said support plate and operatively engaged with said valve-operating means for controlling the movement thereof, a manually operable dispensing arm projecting through a slot in said support plate, said dispensing arm and said valve-operating lever being mounted for pivotal movement about vertically spaced, parallel and horizontal axes, and a link interconnecting said dispensing arm and said valve-operating lever whereby said valve-operating lever is pivoted upon pivotal movement of said dispensing arm.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said coin-controlled mechanism further includes a cam plate having a lobe normally positioned in the path of movement of said valve-operating lever, an electrically operable solenoid operatively associated with said cam plate for rotating said cam plate to remove said lobe from the path of movement of said valve operating lever, and electric circuit means including coin sensing switches controlling the operation of said solenoid.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 further including a coin chute for receiving a plurality of coins, a coin release member pivotally mounted adjacent said coin chute and normally blocking the lower end of said coin chute to support coins therein, and means interconnecting said coin release member and said valve-operating lever and operative to pivot said release member away from a coin support position as a measured quantity of liquid is dispensed.