Automated beverage system
First Claim
1. An automated beverage dispensing system, comprising:
- a cup conveyor including a plurality of upwardly open cup holders for transporting beverage cups from a cup extraction station past a beverage dispensing station to one or more pick-up stations;
a cup storage unit including a rotatable turret having a plurality of cup supply tubes of a selected size mounted thereon for holding a predetermined mix of different sized cups; and
a cup gripper and extractor mechanism located adjacent the cup conveyor and including a pair of elongated cup gripper arms facing the turret and located on an elevatable base member, the base member being driven vertically on command from a relatively lower rest position to a relatively higher cup extracting position, whereupon the gripper arms are driven toward each other so as to grip a cup of a selected cup size projecting from the bottom of one of the cup supply tubes, the base member thereafter being lowered to the rest position with the gripper arms simultaneously extracting the cup from said one tube and then retracting to drop the extracted cup into a cup holder located at the cup extraction station.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automated system for preparing and delivering postmix beverages in response to one or more drink orders being entered from a remote point of sale unit or a local keypad and including: a postmix beverage preparation assembly for dispensing ice and a selected postmix beverage into a cup; an oblong carousel type conveyor assembly including a plurality of upwardly open cup holders which are driven by a motor driven belt so as to pass beneath a cup dispensing station, an ice dispensing station, a beverage dispensing station, and a plurality of pick-up stations; a cup storage and dispenser assembly including a bidirectionally rotatable turret upon which is mounted a plurality of different sized cup supply tubes for holding a respective stack of beverage cups; and a pneumatic vertically driven cup gripper/extractor mechanism having a pair of pneumatically operated gripper arms which operate to remove a cup from a selected supply tube on the turret and placing the extracted cup into an empty cup holder which is then transported past the dispensing stations and then to a pick-up station on the conveyor for manual removal by an attendant.
137 Citations
59 Claims
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1. An automated beverage dispensing system, comprising:
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a cup conveyor including a plurality of upwardly open cup holders for transporting beverage cups from a cup extraction station past a beverage dispensing station to one or more pick-up stations; a cup storage unit including a rotatable turret having a plurality of cup supply tubes of a selected size mounted thereon for holding a predetermined mix of different sized cups; and a cup gripper and extractor mechanism located adjacent the cup conveyor and including a pair of elongated cup gripper arms facing the turret and located on an elevatable base member, the base member being driven vertically on command from a relatively lower rest position to a relatively higher cup extracting position, whereupon the gripper arms are driven toward each other so as to grip a cup of a selected cup size projecting from the bottom of one of the cup supply tubes, the base member thereafter being lowered to the rest position with the gripper arms simultaneously extracting the cup from said one tube and then retracting to drop the extracted cup into a cup holder located at the cup extraction station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. An automated beverage dispensing system including an ice dispenser and a beverage dispenser, comprising:
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an oblong carousel type conveyor including a plurality of upwardly open cup holders for sequentially transporting beverage cups from a cup extraction station, past an ice dispensing station and a beverage dispensing station to one or more pick-up stations; a drive motor for powering the conveyor past said stations; a cup storage unit including a rotatable turret having a plurality of cup supply tubes of a selected size mounted thereon for holding a predetermined mix of different sized cups; a rotation sensor connected to the turret for determining the location of the cup supply tubes relative to the cup extraction station; a drive motor for bidirectionally rotating the turret so as to minimize the time for positioning a cup supply tube at said cup extraction station; and a cup gripper and extractor mechanism located adjacent the cup conveyor and including an elevatable pair of elongated cup gripper arms facing a cup supply tube on the turret, said gripper arms being elevatable from a relatively lower rest position to a relatively higher cup extracting position, the gripper arms closing at said cup extracting position to grip a cup of a selected cup size at said cup supply tube, extracting the cup from said cup supply tube while being lowered to the rest position and then opening to drop the extracted cup into a cup holder located at the cup extraction station.
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51. A method of dispensing beverages from an automated beverage dispensing system, comprising the steps of:
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moving a plurality of cup holders on a conveyor from a cup extraction station, past at least a beverage dispensing station, and past at least one pick-up station for manual removal of a cup containing a beverage; bidirectionally rotating a cup supply tube turret including a plurality of cup supply tubes of a selected size and containing a predetermined mix of different sized cups to deliver a cup of a selected cup size to the cup extraction station; elevating a pair of elongated cup gripper arms located adjacent the cup conveyor from a relatively lower rest position to a relatively higher cup extracting position and extracting a cup from the bottom of a cup supply tube; and lowering the gripper arms to said rest position while dropping the extracted cup into a cup holder located at the cup extraction station. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification