Patent GB-788511-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in drink dispensing machines
Inventor: BUSWELL ROBERT EDMUND
IPC: G07F13/10
Filed: 1954-11-29
Abstract: 788,511. Coin-freed apparatus. WESTERN MANUFACTURING (READING), Ltd. Nov. 28. 1955 [Nov. 29, 1954], No. 34565/54. Class 27 Cups stored mouth downwards in nested stacks in a rotatable magazine in a coinfreed drink dispensing machine are released one by one. as the magazine is stepped round, by means of a pair of tapered arcuate rails 69, 70 which engage between the rims of the lowermost and next above cups and the released cup falls to a funnel 82 where its rim engages an abutment 84 that forms a pivot round which the cup rotates through 180 degrees to an upright position before reaching a filling station. Drink dispensing. The machine is provided with three vessels 8 8<SP>1</SP> 8<SP>11</SP> holding different fruit cordials which are delivered by fixed-chamber metering devices 9, 9<SP>1</SP>, 9<SP>11</SP> to separate outlet tubes 10 and with a refrigerated or heated water tank 14 from which water is delivered by a pump 13. A bottle for injecting carbon dioxide into the water under delivery or a separate reservoir for carbonated water may also be provided and in the'latter case a restrictor and diaphragm valve are included in the pipe line from the reservoir, the valve being operated by the pressure of the carbonated water to shut off the still water when carbonated water is being delivered. The water pump and metering devices are operated by cam, crank or eccentric means 40, 46 on a shaft 35 driven by a motor 36 and the means 46 is slidable on the shaft under the control of a selector knob 54 so as to operate selectively one of the three metering devices. Float-controlled switches may be provided to prevent further operation of the machine and to illuminate warning .lamps when either the water or one or all of the cordials is exhausted. Cup delivery. The magazine is carried on a pivoted bracket so that it can be tilted to an inclined position to facilitate loading and is indexed by a pawl 30 which engages pins 29 on a disc 28 on the magazine spindle and is pivoted on a member 31 reciprocated by a crank disc 34 or similar means on the shaft 35. A fixed base plate 66 below the magazine carries the separator rails. 69, 70 above a tapering depression 67 ending in a delivery hole 81. The radial distance between the opposed surfaces of the rails is slightly less than the diameter of the cup where it is engaged by the rails so that in being separated from the stack and depressed by the rails it is lightly gripped and prevented from riding up between the rails until, above the hole 81, the radial distance increases to release the cup. The released cup turns about the abutment 84 and falls in an upright position to a filling position 94, Fig. 8. where it is suported under its rim by a counterweighted lever 86. To ensure that the cup does not jam in the funnel 82, a light spring 85 vibrates it as it falls and a lug 142 can engage and tilt a cup that happens to fall in a horizontal position. In a funnel of modified shape, the spring 85 and lug 142 are omitted and a upstanding stop on the abutment 84 forms a pivot point for the cup. A sector plate 88 is pivoted at 115 below the funnel 82 and has walls 89, 91, 92, forming a compartment 90 normally accessible from the outside of the machine, and an arcuate web 95 which prevents access when the plate is swung in the direction of the arrow D to bring its left-hand part and the compartment 90 directly under the lever 86; the wall 89 may engage an abutment 139 on the lever 86 to support the lever during filling of the cup or the lever may be supported by a stop movable by cam means on the shaft 35. When the plate is moved back to its initial position, the lever 86 swings down to deposit the cup on the plate and the cup is then brought round to the delivery position. The movement of the plate is controlled by a grooved face cam 65 fitted on the shaft 35 and engaged by a follower roller 98 on a sliding block 104 which has a pin 108 engaged in a slotted crank member 110. The crank member is rotatable on the spindle 115 of the plate 88 and a spring is fitted between the crank member and a lug 117 on the spindle so that if movement of the plate in the direction of the arrow D is obstructed, for example, by the customer's fingers, the movement can continue to a limited extent by compression of the spring. To prevent damage in he event of a positive obstruction of the plate movement, the drive to the shaft 35 is through a slipping clutch 38. The walls 91, 92 may be mounted on the plate 88 by means of a pivot 140 geared to the spindle 115 or block 104 so that they swing in the opposite direction to the plate and sweep the compartment 90 clear of any obstructive objects such as a discarded cup. Coin action. An inserted coin falling down a duct 121 pivots a counterweighted lever 123 to close a mercury switch 127 in the circuit of the shaft motor 36 and the lever is held in this position by a pawl 128 engaging a trigger 135 on a second lever 130. Further fall of the coin in the duct is delayed by staggered vanes 137 which divert it from side to side of the duct but, after sufficient time to allow cam means on the shaft 35<SP>1</SP> of a gearbox 37 to close a second switch in parallel with the mercury switch. the coin strikes the lower end of the lever 130 and releases the trigger 135. After one revolution of the shaft 35, the cam means on the shaft 35 opens the second switch and stops the motor 36.