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Automated beverage system

  • US 6,053,359 A
  • Filed: 12/22/1997
  • Issued: 04/25/2000
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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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.

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