Patent ID: 8473098

Claim:
An apparatus for dispensing one or more bulk products in response to inputs from a user for selecting one of the bulk products and a desired quantity, said apparatus comprising: a communication bus; one or more bin units, each of said bin units comprising a bin and an integrated dispensing mechanism, and further including a dedicated control unit, said bin comprising a sealable housing and being configured to hold one of the bulk products, said control unit including an addressable communication interface coupled to said communication bus, and said control unit being operatively coupled to said dispensing mechanism and configured to control said dispensing mechanism in response to one or more control commands addressed to said control unit and received over said communication bus; a controller configured to receive the inputs from the user and generate one or more control commands for dispensing the selected bulk product in the desired quantity, and said controller including a control/command interface for addressing said bin unit associated with the selected bulk product and transmitting said one or more generated control commands to said bin unit over said communication bus; said communication bus comprising a modular configuration for coupling a plurality of said bin units; and each of said dispensing mechanisms comprising a motor and a dispensing device, said dispensing device being operatively coupled to said motor and actuated by said motor, and said motor being operatively connected to said control unit and configured to be responsive to one or more control signals from said control unit to actuate said dispensing device, and said one or more control signals being generated based on said one or more control commands addressed to said control unit; said dispensing mechanism comprising a chute for dispensing the desired quantity of the selected bulk product contained in said bin into a container.