Patent Description:
The present invention relates to a cup dispenser, which finds advantageous, although not exclusive, application in beverage vending machines, to which the following description will refer without thereby losing its generality.

In the vending field it is known to arrange at least one cup dispenser in beverage vending machines generally comprising a cup storage and a cup holder designed to receive a cup from the cup storage and to hold it during filling with a beverage.

Commonly, the cup storage is in the form of a vertical turret storage, which is formed by a plurality of columns housing respective stacks of cups and is rotatable about a central axis so as to bring one column at a time to a cup releasing station, at which a cup release device normally integrated in the column separates a cup from the bottom of the stack and lets it fall in the cup holder, wherefrom, after having been filled, the cup is usually extracted manually by a consumer.

The need to dispense cups of different sizes has led the manufacturers to equip the turret storage with columns of different diameters so as to contain respective stacks of cups of different sizes, and to provide adjustable cup release devices so as to be adjustable to the size of the cups contained in the respective column.

The possibility to dispense cups of different sizes has consequently entailed the need to adjust also the cup holder so that the retaining area of the cup holder designed to circumferentially engage the cup is dimensioned to firmly hold the different types of cups. To meet this need, many solutions have been developed, among which, for example, that of giving the cup holder a suitable shape, typically funnelled, allowing it to indifferently hold cups of different sizes, or that of making the portion of the cup holder designed to enter into contact with the cup movable so as to adjust to the size of the cup to be received, or that of using different cup holders for different cup sizes and of selectively moving them to bring each time the suitable one under the cup releasing station.

Normally, after having been released from the respective stack of cups at the cup releasing station, the cup is left free to fall towards the cup holder, guiding its fall by means of a stationary slide.

Since, for bulk reasons, the cup releasing station and the inlet of the cup holder are not usually vertically mutually aligned, the slide is normally inclined so as to guide the cup and centre it as much as possible with respect to the inlet of the cup holder.

Although the use of a stationary slide for guiding the cups from the outlet of the cup storage to cup holder is an extremely simple and effective conveyance solution, the Applicant has experienced that in "multi-cup" dispensers, i.e., cup dispensers capable of dispensing cups of different sizes, malfunctions can frequently occur deriving from the fact that, since the cups have different diameters and lengths, the stationary slide does not always manage to ensure that all the cups correctly centre the cup holder beneath.

Some solutions are known in which the problem has been solved at least in part by arranging, along the stationary slide, a passive cup intercepting member, i.e., a tilting member which, in an initial rest position, extends partially through the fall path of the cup. When the cup descends along the slide, the cup intercepts the tilting member and forces it to move laterally against the thrust of elastic means, which are configured to move the tilting member back into the initial rest position, once the cup has been removed by the consumer from the support device. The function of the tilting member is to partially absorb the kinetic energy of the cup which descends along the slide so as to prevent the cup from tilting during the descent, so failing to correctly enter the cup holder.

Solutions of this type are known, for example, from <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a cup dispenser for a beverage vending machine improved compared to known solutions.

According to the present invention, a cup dispenser 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 construct it and use it. Various modifications to the described embodiments will be immediately apparent to those skilled in the art and the general principles described can be applied to other embodiments and applications without thereby departing from the protection scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims. Therefore, the present invention must not be considered limited to the described and illustrated embodiments, but is intended to have the widest protection scope in accordance with the described and claimed characteristics.

Unless otherwise defined, all the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning commonly used by people of ordinary skill in the field pertaining to the present invention. In the case of conflict, the present description, comprising the definitions provided, will be binding. Furthermore, the examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and as such must not be considered limiting.

To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments described herein, reference will be made to some specific embodiments and a specific language will be used to describe them. The terminology used in the present document is intended to describe only particular embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

In the attached Figures, reference numeral <NUM> references as a whole a cup dispenser for a beverage vending machine (not shown).

The cup dispenser <NUM> comprises a cup storage <NUM> designed to dispense individual cups <NUM> at a cup releasing station <NUM>.

The cup dispenser <NUM> further comprises a cup holder <NUM> arranged under the cup storage <NUM> at a cup receiving station <NUM> to receive by gravity, at each operating cycle, a cup <NUM>, to hold the cup <NUM> in an upright position during filling with the beverage or beverage ingredients, and lastly to allow a consumer to extract the filled cup <NUM> by transversally withdrawing it from the cup holder <NUM>.

The cup receiving station <NUM>, wherein the cup <NUM> engages the cup holder <NUM>, also defines a cup filling station and an cup withdrawing station. In a variant, the cup filling station and/or the cup withdrawing station do not physically coincide with the cup receiving station <NUM>, and the cup holder <NUM> is mounted to move between the cup receiving station <NUM> and the cup filling station and/or the cup withdrawing station.

In the preferred embodiment shown in the attached figures, the cup storage <NUM> is a vertical turret storage, preferably of the type disclosed and shown in <CIT> in the name of the same Applicant, and comprises a plurality of columns <NUM> mounted on a carousel rotatably mounted to rotate about a fixed vertical axis. Each column <NUM> comprises a tubular member <NUM> designed to contain a respective stack of cups <NUM>, and a cup releasing device <NUM>, which is arranged at a lower end of an associated tubular member <NUM> and is operable, when arranged in the cup releasing station <NUM>, to release an individual cup <NUM> from the bottom of the relative stack and letting it free to fall downwards.

As shown in <FIG>, the tubular members <NUM> have equal or different diameters so as to be able to contain cups <NUM> of different sizes. The cup releasing devices <NUM> are suitably dimensioned according to the size of the cups <NUM> contained in the respective column <NUM>.

The cup holder <NUM> comprises a frame <NUM> wherein a cup falling channel <NUM> is formed, which extends along a vertical axis <NUM>, defines the cup receiving station <NUM> and has, at least at a lower terminal end, a lateral opening, preferably about <NUM>° wide, designed to allow the extraction of the cup <NUM> by a consumer.

The cup holder <NUM> further comprises a cup retaining device arranged in the cup falling channel <NUM>, conveniently at an outlet thereof, and comprising a plurality of cup retaining members <NUM>, which are distributed, preferably uniformly mutually spaced apart, along an arch, conveniently about <NUM>° wide, so as to mutually define a retaining area A coaxial to the axis <NUM> and designed to be occupied by a cup <NUM> when it is arranged between the cup retaining members <NUM>. The ends of the arch formed by the cup retaining members <NUM> delimit an opening, which is arranged facing, and has a width approximately corresponding to, the longitudinal opening of the cup falling channel <NUM> so as to allow extraction of the filled cup <NUM> transversally to the axis <NUM>.

In the preferred embodiment shown in the attached figures, the cup retaining members <NUM> are mounted on the frame <NUM> so as to be movable in respective radial directions relatively to the axis <NUM> so as to allow the cup retaining area A to be widened and reduced based on the size of the cup <NUM> to be retained.

For this purpose, each cup retaining member <NUM> comprises a cup engagement portion <NUM> which is curvilinear and delimits, with the other cup engagement portions <NUM>, the cup retaining area A, and a slider <NUM>, which extends in radial direction with respect to the axis <NUM> and slidably engages a respective track (not shown) in the frame <NUM> to guide the respective cup retaining member <NUM> during adjustment of the size of the cup retaining area A.

The cup retaining members <NUM> are operable simultaneously via a mechanical transmission (not shown) arranged in the frame <NUM> and designed to transform a rotatory motion of an output shaft of an electric actuator <NUM> mounted on the frame <NUM> in a linear motion of the cup retaining members <NUM> in the respective radial directions.

As shown in <FIG> and in greater detail in <FIG>, the cup dispenser <NUM> further comprises a cup guide device <NUM> having the function to receive, during operation, a cup <NUM> dispensed from a column <NUM> in the cup releasing station <NUM> and to guide the fall thereof up to the cup receiving station <NUM> so that the cup <NUM> reaches the inlet of the cup falling channel <NUM> in a substantially upright position and as much as possible centred with respect to the axis <NUM> and, hence, to the cup retaining area A.

The cup guide device <NUM> comprises a slide <NUM>, which extends in fixed position between the cup releasing station <NUM> and the cup receiving station <NUM>, and a cup intercepting device <NUM> arranged along the slide <NUM> and designed to act on the cup <NUM> when the latter falls along the slide <NUM> so as to slow down, and possibly temporarily stop, the fall of the cup <NUM>.

Furthermore, the cup intercepting device <NUM> is designed, when interacting with the cup <NUM>, to position, and possibly reposition, the cup <NUM> correctly with respect to the slide <NUM> so as to cause the cup <NUM> to be centred with respect to the inlet of the cup holder <NUM>, so preventing the cup <NUM> from failing to correctly insert between the cup retaining members <NUM>.

Preferably, the slide <NUM> is supported by the frame <NUM>, has a general semi-funnel shape and comprises an upper inlet portion <NUM>, which is arranged in the cup releasing station <NUM> and is vertically aligned with the outlet of the column <NUM> which currently occupies the cup releasing station <NUM>, and a lower outlet portion <NUM>, which is connected to the upper inlet portion <NUM> via a concave inclined wall <NUM>, is arranged in the cup receiving station <NUM> so as to be vertically offset with respect to the upper inlet portion <NUM>, and surrounds at least partially the inlet of the cup falling channel <NUM>.

The cup intercepting device <NUM> is arranged under the cup releasing station <NUM> and is supported by a mounting bracket <NUM>, which can be fixedly mounted either to a fixed part of the cup storage <NUM>, as in the shown example, or, in variants not shown, to any other fixed part of the beverage vending machine.

The cup intercepting device <NUM> comprises a cup intercepting or slowing-down member <NUM> which extends towards the inside of the slide <NUM> and is movable, under the thrust of the cup <NUM> which descends along the slide <NUM>, between a normal barrier position (<FIG>), in which the cup intercepting member <NUM> extends at least partially through the path of the cup <NUM> along the slide <NUM> so as to intercept the cup <NUM>, and a disengagement position, in which the cup intercepting member <NUM> is moved downwards and towards the cup holder <NUM> (<FIG>) and stops accompanying the descent of the cup <NUM>, which disengages from the cup intercepting member <NUM>.

The cup intercepting member <NUM> is configured to normally maintain, i.e., when no external force acts thereon, the barrier position, to move from the barrier position to the disengagement position under the thrust of a cup <NUM> falling along the slide <NUM>, and to autonomously move back into the barrier position after having reached the disengagement position and no longer being acted on by the cup <NUM>.

The cup intercepting member <NUM> is sized to intercept a cup <NUM> of any size which can be dispensed by the cup storage <NUM> and to exert on the dispensed cup <NUM> a slowing-down and controlled accompanying action during the fall.

The cup intercepting device <NUM> further comprises an actuator <NUM>, which is supported by the mounting bracket <NUM> and is operable to lock the cup intercepting member <NUM> in the barrier position so as to cause the cup intercepting member <NUM> not only to slow down, but also to temporarily stop, the fall of the intercepted cup <NUM>.

In the preferred embodiment shown, the cup intercepting member <NUM> is in the form of a rocker arm, which is mounted to rotate about a fixed axis <NUM>, preferably horizontal, and comprises a first arm defined by a pair of rods <NUM>, which are formed by a U-shaped fork, are mutually connected by a crossbar (not shown in the Figures), and rotatably engage respective slots in the mounting bracket <NUM> and defining a rotating hinge of the rocker arm.

The rocker arm further comprises a second arm opposing the rods <NUM> and formed by the part of fork containing the crossbar and by a plate <NUM> made of conductive material, integral to the pair of rods <NUM>, and the function of which will be described here below.

As shown in <FIG>, in the barrier position, the two rods <NUM> extend transversally inside the slide <NUM> and their dimension and mutual distance are such that, when a cup <NUM> of any size is released from the respective column <NUM> and starts descending along the slide <NUM>, the conical body of the cup <NUM> partially inserts, in a larger or smaller extent depending on the size of the cup <NUM>, in the space comprised between the rods <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, in the disengagement position, the rods <NUM> are rotated downwards by the thrust exerted on the rods <NUM> by the cup <NUM> which, sliding downwards, progressively moves the rods <NUM> away from the slide <NUM> up to completely disengage from the rods <NUM>.

The actuator <NUM> can be of any type as long as it is suitable to temporarily lock the cup intercepting member <NUM> in the barrier position, i.e., to lock the cup intercepting member <NUM> with a retaining force greater than the downward thrust exerted on the rods <NUM> by the cup <NUM>. Conveniently, the actuator <NUM> is of an electromagnetic type and comprises an electromagnet <NUM> designed to interact with the plate <NUM>.

In particular, as shown in <FIG>, in the normal barrier position, the plate <NUM> is arranged in contact with the electromagnet <NUM>, while in the disengagement position, the plate <NUM> is detached from the electromagnet <NUM> and rotated upwards, with respect to the barrier position.

If, in the barrier position, the electromagnet <NUM> is electrically powered before the rods <NUM> intercept a cup <NUM>, the electromagnet <NUM> retains the plate <NUM>, thus locking the entire cup intercepting member <NUM> in the barrier position and thus preventing the rods <NUM> from rotating downwards when engaged by the cup <NUM>.

The electromagnet <NUM> is maintained electrically powered for the time strictly necessary to stop the cup <NUM>, after which it is electrically de-powered so as to leave the cup intercepting member <NUM> free to rotate about the axis <NUM> under the thrust of the cup <NUM> and accompany the cup <NUM>, while controlling the fall thereof, up to when the cup <NUM> abandons the rods <NUM>.

The capacity of the cup intercepting member <NUM> to maintain, when no external force acts thereon, the barrier position and to return, at the end of the force acted thereon by the cup <NUM>, from the disengagement position to the barrier position is the result of a suitable distribution of the masses of the cup intercepting member <NUM>. In particular, the second arm of the rocker arm/cup intercepting member <NUM>, i.e., the part of the cup intercepting member <NUM> which is opposed to the rods <NUM> with respect to the axis <NUM> and comprises the plate <NUM>, has a greater weight than the first arm of the rocker arm, i.e., the rods <NUM>. This greater weight can be obtained by using a plate <NUM> of suitable weight or, as in the example shown, by providing the plate <NUM> with a counterweight <NUM>.

The weight of the second arm of the rocker arm determines the resistance opposed by the cup intercepting member <NUM> to the rotation about the axis <NUM> under the thrust of the cup <NUM> and is chosen by keeping into account, on the one hand, cups <NUM> larger in size and weight, so that the cup intercepting member <NUM> is capable of suitably decreasing the fall of the cup <NUM> and controllably accompanying the descent thereof, and, on the other hand, cups <NUM> smaller in size and weight, so that the resistance offered by the cup intercepting member <NUM> fails to exceed the thrust exerted by the cup <NUM> on the rods <NUM>.

In a variant, in replacement or in addition to the solution described above to ensure the stability and the return of the rods <NUM> in the barrier position, an elastic return member can be provided, for example a spring.

Conveniently, during operation, the electromagnet <NUM> is electrically powered to temporarily lock the cup intercepting member <NUM> when a cup <NUM> of small size is dispensed. In this case, in fact, due to the reduced dimensions and weight of the cup <NUM>, the risk that the cup <NUM> may assume incorrect positions during the fall is greater. By temporarily stopping the cup <NUM> and then accompanying it in the descent along the slide <NUM>, a greater control of the fall of the cup <NUM> is obtained compared to the case where the fall of the cup <NUM> is accompanied only by the cup intercepting member <NUM> without ever being stopped.

Claim 1:
A cup dispenser (<NUM>) for a beverage vending machine; the cup dispenser (<NUM>) comprises a cup storage (<NUM>) to dispense individual cups (<NUM>); a cup holder (<NUM>) to receive a cup (<NUM>) by gravity from the cup storage (<NUM>) and hold the cup (<NUM>) in an upright position; and a cup guide device (<NUM>) to control the cup (<NUM>) during fall from the cup storage (<NUM>) to the cup holder (<NUM>) and comprising a stationary slide (<NUM>); the cup guide device (<NUM>) further comprises an cup intercepting device (<NUM>) arranged to interact with the cup (<NUM>) during the descent of the cup (<NUM>) along the slide (<NUM>) and comprising a cup intercepting member (<NUM>) mounted to move from and to a barrier position, in which the cup intercepting member (<NUM>) extends at least partially through a path of the cup (<NUM>) along the slide (<NUM>) to intercept the cup (<NUM>) during the descent of the cup (<NUM>) along the slide (<NUM>);
characterised by further comprising an electromagnetic actuator (<NUM>) coupled to the cup intercepting device (<NUM>) and electrically powerable to lock the cup intercepting member (<NUM>) in the barrier position before the cup intercepting member (<NUM>) intercepts the cup (<NUM>) with a retaining force greater than the downward thrust exerted on the cup intercepting member (<NUM>) by the cup (<NUM>) so as to stop the descent of the cup (<NUM>) and electrically de-powerable to leave the cup intercepting member (<NUM>) free to move away from the barrier position under the thrust of the cup (<NUM>).