초록 ▼

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

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.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I 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 rotata

[ I 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; anda 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.