Patent Description:
In the vending sector it is known to arrange a cup dispenser inside a beverage vending machine to feed individual cups to a cup filling station, where the individual cups are filled with a beverage and, if necessary, sugar and stirring blades.

In general, a cup dispenser comprises a tower or carousel magazine comprising a rotatable support mounted to rotate about a vertical axis and a plurality of tubular containers mounted on the support around the vertical axis and designed to contain respective stacks of cups. In use, the support is rotated about the vertical axis so as to place, one at a time, the tubular containers in a cup release station, in which a cup disengagement device detaches an individual cup from the bottom of the stack and lets it drop, appropriately guided by a chute, into a cup holder from which, once filled with the beverage, the cup is manually removed by the user.

Normally, each tubular container is equipped with a respective cup disengagement device, while the cup holder is single and common to all the tubular containers and can be either stationary in the filling station or movable between a cup receiving point and the cup filling station.

The need to deliver cups of different dimensions has resulted in the manufacturers equipping the tower magazine with tubular containers of various diameters and to use adjustable disengagement devices so as to allow the dimension thereof to be modified according to the dimension of the cups contained in the corresponding tubular containers.

The possibility of dispensing cups of different dimensions has consequently also resulted in the need for a cup holder able to receive and securely hold cups of different dimensions.

The solutions currently known have solved this problem substantially in two ways, applicable alternatively or in combination: equipping the vending machine with cup holders of different dimensions and/or use one cup holder having a shape, generally a funnel shape, enabling it to hold cups of various dimensions.

The first type of solution is disclosed, for example, in <CIT> and suffers from the drawback of being too bulky due to the space occupied by the cup holders and above all the space required for the movement thereof.

The second type of solution is disclosed, for example, in <CIT> and suffers from the drawback of providing the cups, when in the cup holder, with less stability than the cup holders with a shape designed to couple only with a cup of a given dimension. Furthermore, the range of cup dimensions receivable by the cup holder is fairly limited.

Another solution to meet the need to deliver cups of different sizes is proposed in <CIT> which discloses a cup holder having two cup retention members pivotally mounted about respective vertical axes so as to clamp the cup. The cup holder of <CIT>, although teaching to adapt the size of the retention area to the size of the cup to be supported, suffers from the drawback that the two retaining members, working as a claw gripper, cannot uniformly contact the circumference of the side wall of the cup, especially for a cup much larger or much smaller than an average size for which the gripper is designed, with adverse effects for the stability of the cup in the cup holder.

<CIT> discloses a cup holder suitable to accumulate and dispense a cup in which a chosen beverage will be prepared.

The object of the present invention is to provide improvements that remedy the above-described drawbacks.

According to the present invention a cup holder for a beverage vending machine is provided, as claimed in the appended claims.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached figures to enable a person skilled in the art to produce it and use it. The present invention shall not be considered limited to the embodiments described and illustrated, but shall be given the widest protective scope in accordance with the appended claims.

In the attached Figures, the number <NUM> indicates overall a cup holder for a beverage vending machine (not shown).

The cup holder <NUM> is normally arranged in a cup filling station and is associated with a cup dispenser, for example of the type described and shown in <CIT> in the same of the present Applicant, to receive from the cup dispenser an individual cup <NUM> at a time and hold the cup <NUM> below one or more nozzles arranged for dispensing ingredients of the beverage.

Normally, the cup filling station coincides with a cup picking station where the cup <NUM> filled with the beverage is picked-up by a user and, for this purpose, the cup holder <NUM> is so shaped as to allow the cup <NUM> to be transversally slid out of the cup holder. According to a variation, the cup picking station does not coincide with the cup filling station and the cup holder <NUM> is mounted to move between the cup filling station and the cup picking station.

The cup holder <NUM> comprises a housing <NUM> so shaped as to define a cup dropping channel <NUM> with a vertical axis <NUM>. Preferably, the cup dropping channel <NUM> has, at least at a lower end portion thereof, a longitudinal opening, preferably with an angular width of approximately <NUM>°.

The cup holder <NUM> further comprises a slide <NUM> mounted on the housing <NUM> and designed to receive, in use, a cup <NUM> from the cup dispenser and feed the cup <NUM> to an inlet of the cup dropping channel <NUM> in a position centred as far as possible relative to the axis <NUM>.

Lastly, the cup holder <NUM> comprises a cup retention device which is arranged in the cup dropping channel <NUM>, expediently at the outlet thereof, to retain the cup <NUM> which is fed to the cup dropping channel <NUM> each time.

The cup retention device comprises a plurality of cup retention members <NUM> which define therebetween a retention area A coaxial to the axis <NUM> and designed to be occupied by the cup <NUM> when the latter is supported by the cup retention members <NUM>.

The cup retention members <NUM> are slidably mounted on the housing <NUM> to slide in respective radial directions relative to the axis <NUM>, so as to widen or reduce the retention area A according to the dimension of the cup <NUM> to be held.

In order to move the cup retention members <NUM>, the cup holder <NUM> comprises an electric actuator <NUM> and a transmission <NUM> designed and arranged to transform a rotary motion from the electric actuator <NUM> into a simultaneous linear motion of the cup retention members <NUM> along the respective radial directions.

As shown in the attached figures, the housing <NUM> comprises an upper half-shell 3a and a lower half-shell 3b mutually coupled and the electric actuator <NUM> is a gear-motor mounted on the upper half-shell 3a.

The transmission <NUM> is housed between the upper half-shell 3a and the lower half-shell 3b and preferably comprises a crank and slotted link in which the rotation, clockwise or anticlockwise, of a wheel <NUM> around a rotation axis <NUM> parallel to the axis <NUM> is transmitted to an oscillating member <NUM>, which is mounted to oscillate around the axis <NUM> in response to a rotation of the wheel <NUM> and is kinematically coupled to the cup retention members <NUM> so as to transform its own oscillatory motion around the axis <NUM> into a reciprocating rectilinear motion of the cup retention members <NUM> along the respective radial directions.

In particular, the oscillating member <NUM> that controls the radial sliding movement of the cup retention members <NUM> is defined by a circular arc-shaped sector, which is coaxial to the axis <NUM>, extends on a plane perpendicular to the axis <NUM> and slidably engages a curvilinear guide <NUM> formed in the housing <NUM>, in particular in the lower half-shell 3b, and coaxial to the axis <NUM>.

Preferably, the oscillating member <NUM> is guided in its rotary movement around the axis <NUM> also by a plurality of slider carried by the lower half-shell 3b and slidably engaging respective curvilinear slots formed in the oscillating member <NUM>.

The cup retention members <NUM> are mounted on the oscillating member <NUM> and are distributed, preferably evenly, along an arc of approximately <NUM>° so as to define, between the two cup retention members <NUM> arranged at the free ends of the oscillating member <NUM>, an opening corresponding, and having similar range, to the above-mentioned longitudinal opening of the cup dropping channel <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, each cup retention member <NUM> comprises a guide sliding block <NUM>, which radially extends relative to the axis <NUM> and slidably engages a respective track <NUM> formed in the housing <NUM>, in particular in the lower half-shell 3b.

Each cup retention member <NUM> further comprises a circular arc-shaped cup engaging portion <NUM>, which is connected to the radially internal end of the relative guide sliding block <NUM> and bounds, with the other cup engaging portions <NUM>, the above-mentioned retention area A.

The oscillating member <NUM> controls the cup retention members <NUM> via a cam mechanism. For this purpose, the oscillating member <NUM> is provided with longitudinal slots <NUM>, each of which is arranged facing a corresponding guide sliding block <NUM> and is slidably engaged by a relative follower or pin <NUM> carried by the respective guide sliding block <NUM>.

The slots <NUM> are oriented, relative to the radial direction, so that, in response to a rotation of the oscillating member <NUM> around the axis <NUM>, the cup retention members <NUM> are moved radially from or towards the axis <NUM> according to the rotation direction of the oscillating member <NUM>.

The oscillating member <NUM> is moved by the wheel <NUM> by means of a pin-slot coupling designed, as said, to transform a continuous rotation of the wheel <NUM> into a reciprocating oscillatory movement of the oscillating member <NUM> around the axis <NUM> and, through the oscillation of the oscillating member <NUM>, into a radial translation of the cup retention members <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, the wheel <NUM> is carried by the lower half-shell 3b and is kinematically connected by means of a shaft <NUM> to an output 9a of the electric actuator <NUM> arranged on a bottom wall of a casing of the electric actuator <NUM>.

In particular, the shaft <NUM> is integral with the wheel <NUM> and extends upwards, from the centre of the wheel <NUM> and parallel to the axis <NUM>, through an upper wall <NUM> of the upper half-shell 3a until it engages a bush <NUM> coaxial to the axis <NUM>.

A free end of the shaft <NUM> has a prismatic shape and protrudes from the bush <NUM> to engage the output 9a of the electric actuator <NUM>, thus angularly coupling the latter with the wheel <NUM> and transmitting the motion to the oscillating member <NUM>.

On the opposite side to the shaft <NUM>, the wheel <NUM> carries an offset pin <NUM> parallel to the axes <NUM> and <NUM> and slidably engaged in a rectilinear slot <NUM> formed in the oscillating member <NUM>.

According to a different embodiment (not shown), the oscillating member <NUM> is not defined by an circular arc-shaped sector, but by a circular ring coaxial to the axis <NUM>, and the cup retention members <NUM> are distributed throughout the oscillating member <NUM> so as to hold the cup <NUM> along the entire circumference of the cup <NUM>. In this case, therefore, the opening <NUM> is absent and the cup <NUM> is not manually removed by a user directly from the cup holder <NUM>, but released onto a surface of a cup picking compartment by radially opening the cup retention members <NUM>. Expediently, in this embodiment, the cup holder <NUM> can be provided with at least one movement in a direction parallel to the axis <NUM> so that it can be raised and lowered to allow the cup <NUM> filled with beverage to be more easily released onto the rest surface of the cup picking compartment.

As shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, the electric actuator <NUM> is mounted on the half-shell 3a by means of a quick engagement/disengagement device <NUM> designed to allow the electric actuator <NUM> to be easily and quickly mounted and dismounted in a few simple operations, thus enabling an operator to detach from the cup holder <NUM> the part thereof containing the electric components and wash the remainder part of the cup holder <NUM> with water without any risk of damaging it.

According to the preferred embodiment shown, the quick engagement/disengagement device <NUM> comprises a bayonet coupling <NUM> and a lever release mechanism <NUM> configured to be manually operated by an operator and move from a locking configuration, in which it prevents removal of the actuator <NUM> from the housing <NUM>, to a release configuration, in which it allows an operator to move the electric actuator <NUM> relative to the housing <NUM> in such a way as to disengage the bayonet coupling <NUM> and completely detach the electric actuator <NUM> from the housing <NUM>.

According to the preferred embodiment shown, the bayonet coupling <NUM> comprises a lug <NUM> protruding transversally from an outer surface of a sleeve <NUM>, which protrudes from the bottom wall of the electric actuator <NUM>, surrounds the output 9a and, when the electric actuator <NUM> is mounted on the housing <NUM>, is coaxial to the axis <NUM> and fits freely on the bush <NUM>.

The bayonet coupling <NUM> further comprises an L-shaped groove <NUM> carried by the housing <NUM> and shaped so as to be crossed by the lug <NUM> during mounting and dismounting of the electric actuator <NUM> to cause the bayonet coupling <NUM> to be locked and, respectively, unlocked.

In particular, the groove <NUM> is bound by a projection <NUM> protruding from the wall <NUM> of the half-shell 3a close to the bush <NUM> and so shaped as to define a vertical segment of the groove <NUM> designed to be crossed by the lug <NUM> as a result of a movement of the electric actuator <NUM> in a direction parallel to the axis <NUM>, and a horizontal segment of the groove <NUM> designed to be crossed by the lug <NUM> as a result of a rotation of the electric actuator <NUM> around an axis parallel to the axis <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the lever release mechanism <NUM> comprises a pin <NUM>, which is slidably mounted through the wall <NUM> in a direction parallel to the axis <NUM> and, when the electric actuator <NUM> is mounted on the housing <NUM>, engages a hole <NUM> in the bottom wall of the actuator <NUM>.

The lever release mechanism <NUM> further comprises an actuation lever <NUM> which extends transversally to the pin <NUM> and is expediently coupled, in particular is rigidly connected, to the pin <NUM> so as to drive the pin <NUM> in response to manual operation of the actuation lever <NUM> by an operator.

In particular, the actuation lever <NUM> can be manually moved from a normal rest position, in which the actuation lever <NUM> is kept by a spring (not shown) in a raised position and the pin <NUM> protrudes beyond the upper surface of the wall <NUM> and engages the hole <NUM>, to a release position, in which the actuation lever <NUM> is lowered to such an extent as to cause the pin <NUM> to fail to protrude beyond the upper wall <NUM> so as to free the hole <NUM> and result in the electric actuator <NUM> being removable as a result of the disengagement of the bayonet coupling <NUM>, i.e., as a result of a rotation of the electric actuator <NUM> suitable to move the lug <NUM> along the horizontal segment of the groove <NUM> and a translation of the electric actuator <NUM>, in a direction parallel to the axis <NUM>, suitable to move the lug <NUM> along the vertical segment of the groove <NUM> until complete detachment of the electric actuator <NUM> from the housing <NUM>.

To remount the electric actuator <NUM> on the housing <NUM> it is not essential for the operator to re-set the actuation lever <NUM> to the release position since it is sufficient for the electric actuator <NUM> to be oriented so as to align the lug <NUM> with the vertical segment of the groove <NUM> and moved to the wall <NUM>.

The bottom wall of the electric actuator <NUM> is shaped so that when the electric actuator <NUM> is moved to the wall <NUM> to move the lug <NUM> along the vertical segment of the groove <NUM>, a portion of the wall <NUM> comes into contact with the pin <NUM> and lowers it so that the latter does not interfere with the subsequent rotation of the electric actuator <NUM> to move the lug <NUM> along the horizontal segment of the groove <NUM>.

The horizontal segment of the groove <NUM> is sized so that, when the lug <NUM> reaches stroke end and the bayonet coupling <NUM> is in the locking position, the pin <NUM> is aligned with the hole <NUM> and engages it under the thrust of the spring (not shown) which resets the actuation lever <NUM>, and with it the pin <NUM>, to the rest position.

The cup holder <NUM> further comprises an electronic control system <NUM> to control operation of the cup holder <NUM> configured to determine an initial configuration of the cup holder <NUM> when the latter is installed, and to adjust, in use, the dimension of the retention area A so as to adapt it to the dimension of the cup <NUM> to be used, and to dynamically correct the positioning of the cup retention members <NUM> in order to compensate for any offsets that may occur after a certain period of use for various reasons, for example wear or dirt.

In the embodiment in which the oscillating member <NUM> has the shape of a circular ring, the electronic control system <NUM> is further configured to operate the cup retention members <NUM> to cause them to assume a configuration in which a cup <NUM> filled with beverage is released onto a supporting surface of the cup picking compartment and to bring the cup retention members <NUM> to a cup retaining configuration in which an empty cup <NUM> is retained.

The electronic control system <NUM> comprises:.

In particular, the sensory system <NUM> comprises a magnetic angular position sensor device <NUM> mounted and designed to output an electric output indicative of the absolute angular position of the oscillating member <NUM> and, consequently, of the absolute radial position of the cup retention members <NUM>.

For this purpose, the magnetic angular position sensor device <NUM> comprises:.

The permanent magnet <NUM> is expediently a cylindrical magnet carried by a shaft <NUM> of a gear <NUM> mounted on the housing <NUM> to rotate about a rotation axis C, which is parallel to the axis <NUM>, and meshing with a toothed sector <NUM> formed along an edge of the oscillating member <NUM>.

The permanent magnet <NUM> is inserted in a hole formed at a free end of the shaft <NUM> facing the magnetic angular position sensor <NUM> and having an axis perpendicular to the rotation axis C and coinciding with the magnetization axis B.

The magnetic angular position sensor <NUM> is mounted on a printed circuit board <NUM> housed in a fixed position inside the casing of the electric actuator <NUM>, and is arranged aligned with the rotation axis C.

The gear <NUM> comprises a plurality of teeth with constant pitch. In one possible embodiment, the gear <NUM> comprises <NUM> teeth with pitch of <NUM>°. In different embodiments, the gear <NUM> could comprise a number of teeth higher or lower than <NUM>, so as to have a pitch lower or greater than <NUM>°.

Since the number of teeth of the gear <NUM> determines a corresponding number of possible discrete angular positions in which the gear <NUM> can be randomly coupled with the toothed sector <NUM> of the oscillating member <NUM> when the cup holder <NUM> is mounted, the electronic control unit <NUM> is programmed to determine an initial configuration of the cup holder <NUM> when it is mounted, defined by the initial dimension of the retention area A when the cup holder <NUM> is mounted.

For this purpose, in one embodiment the electronic control unit <NUM> is programmed to:.

In a different embodiment, instead of electrically energizing the electric actuator <NUM> in order to cause the oscillating member <NUM> to perform an entire stroke or angular travel in response to a complete rotation of the wheel <NUM>, so as to cause it to reach the first and the second end-of-stroke absolute angular positions, based on which the range of the stroke or angular travel of the oscillating member <NUM> in response to a complete rotation of the wheel <NUM> is then determined, the range of the stroke or angular travel of the oscillating member <NUM> can be stored in the electronic control unit <NUM> and the electric actuator <NUM> can be electrically energized only until the electronic control unit <NUM> detects the first rotation direction inversion of the permanent magnet <NUM>.

In this embodiment, therefore, only the initial absolute angular position of the permanent magnet <NUM>, which it assumes when the electric actuator <NUM> is electrically energized, and the first final absolute angular position of the permanent magnet <NUM> corresponding to the first end-of-stroke absolute angular position of the oscillating member <NUM>, which it assumes when the first oscillation direction inversion of the oscillating member <NUM> is detected, are determined; the initial configuration of the cup holder <NUM> is therefore determined based on the angular displacement of the permanent magnet <NUM> from the initial absolute angular position to the first final absolute angular position corresponding to the first oscillation inversion of the oscillating member <NUM>, and the stored range of the stroke or angular travel of the oscillating member <NUM>.

The electronic control unit <NUM> can further be programmed to:.

Claim 1:
A cup holder (<NUM>) designed to be mountable in a beverage vending machine to support an individual cup (<NUM>) in a filling station and/or in a picking station; the cup holder (<NUM>) comprises a housing (<NUM>) designed to define a cup dropping channel (<NUM>) having a vertical axis (<NUM>); the cup holder (<NUM>) further comprises a cup retention device (<NUM>), which is arranged in the cup dropping channel (<NUM>) and defines a cup retention area (A) coaxial to said vertical axis (<NUM>) and intended to be occupied by a cup (<NUM>) when the cup (<NUM>) is supported by the cup retention device (<NUM>); the cup retention device (<NUM>) comprises a plurality of cup retention members (<NUM>), which define said cup retention area (A) therebetween and are mounted to slide rectilinearly along respective radial directions relative to the axis (<NUM>) so as to adapt a dimension of the cup retention area (A) to a dimension of the cup (<NUM>) to be supported; an electric actuator (<NUM>) and a transmission (<NUM>) designed to kinematically connect the electric actuator (<NUM>) to the cup retention members (<NUM>) and transform a rotary motion of the electric actuator (<NUM>) into a simultaneous linear motion of the cup retention members (<NUM>) in the respective radial directions; characterised in that the transmission (<NUM>) comprises a crank and slotted link comprising a wheel (<NUM>) with a rotation axis (<NUM>) parallel to said axis (<NUM>) and designed to receive a rotary motion from the electric actuator (<NUM>), and an intermediate member (<NUM>) arranged between the wheel (<NUM>) and the cup retention members (<NUM>) and provided with a slot (<NUM>) engaged by a pin (<NUM>) integral to the wheel (<NUM>) to transform the rotary motion of the wheel (<NUM>) into a reciprocating motion of the intermediate member (<NUM>) relative to said axis (<NUM>).