초록 ▼

A liquid dispensing vending system that includes a closed, integrated system of bottles and dispensing machines. The bottles used with the instant dispensing system are designed to minimize the growth of mold, mildew, bacteria and other harmful micro organisms. The vending system may be used to disp

A liquid dispensing vending system that includes a closed, integrated system of bottles and dispensing machines. The bottles used with the instant dispensing system are designed to minimize the growth of mold, mildew, bacteria and other harmful micro organisms. The vending system may be used to dispense water, soft drinks, coffee, tea, water with nutrients, and/or antioxidants, into containers such as rugged bottles capable of being reused many times. The bottles are designed to be refilled by the dispensing machines, and therefore are tampered resistant. The bottles are made of an antimicrobial plastic and their contents are stored under pressure to discourage bacterial and organic growth inside the bottle.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An apparatus comprising: a dispensing unit comprising: a filtration unit adapted to filter a liquid;a reservoir unit for containing a supply of liquid to be dispensed;a pump unit, operatively coupled to the reservoir unit, to pump the liquid from the reservoir unit;a conduit unit, operatively cou

1. An apparatus comprising: a dispensing unit comprising: a filtration unit adapted to filter a liquid;a reservoir unit for containing a supply of liquid to be dispensed;a pump unit, operatively coupled to the reservoir unit, to pump the liquid from the reservoir unit;a conduit unit, operatively coupled to the reservoir unit, to dispense liquid, the conduit unit having a retractable unit and an orifice;a compressor unit, operatively coupled to the conduit unit, to provide pressurization of the receptacle to store the liquid under pressure to facilitate subsequent discharge of the liquid from the receptacle; anda sterilization unit, operatively coupled to the filtration unit, for sterilizing the liquid prior to dispensing into the receptacle;a control unit, operatively coupled to the conduit unit, for controlling liquid dispensed by the conduit unit; anda receptacle unit comprising: a container unit for containing liquid; anda lid unit, attachable to the container unit, the lid unit adapted to discharge liquid due to the pressure in the receptacle. 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receptacle is pressurized to a particular pressure to facilitate dispensing liquid from the receptacle. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lid unit further comprises: a body member having an actuator unit; anda base member. 4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a compressed gas unit adapted to provide compressed gas to the receptacle unit. 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the compressed gas unit is detachable from the receptacle unit. 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the compressed gas unit is adapted to be recharged by dispensing unit. 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compressor unit provides compressed gas that is added to the liquid to form a mixture and the mixture is dispensed by the conduit unit. 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receptacle is depressurized by the dispensing unit. 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a mass sensing unit adapted to sense the mass of the receptacle, wherein the mass sensing unit determines a mass of the receptacle to determine an amount of liquid to dispense, the conduit unit provides the determined amount of liquid and the pressure gauge determines an amount of pressurization for the receptacle based on the liquid dispensed. 10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the receptacle is adapted to be repeatedly pressurized. 11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a pressure gauge unit adapted to sense an internal pressure of the receptacle. 12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein the pressure gauge is disposed in the dispensing unit. 13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the pressure gauge is disposed in the receptacle. 14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conduit unit dispenses compressed gas based on the volume of the liquid in the receptacle. 15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a first RFID transceiver unit disposed in the receptacle for storing information related to the receptacle. 16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 further comprising: a second RFID transceiver unit disposed in the dispensing unit. 17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second RFID transceiver unit obtains information from the first RFID transceiver unit. 18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first RFID transceiver unit transmits user data to the second RFID transceiver unit, wherein the user data is used by the dispensing unit to dispense liquid into the receptacle. 19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the user data includes preference data and/or account data.