Apparatus for automatically dispensing single or mixed drinks

Abstract

Five cylindrical containers each having an aperture in its bottom wall, are housed in a cabinet. Each container is desirably filled with a different liquid. A tube passes though the bottom wall and into a gear driven electrically operated measuring pump for each container. The pump accurately meters out a desired volume of liquid in direct proportion to the time the pump is pumping. Located downward from each pump is a connected solenoid valve, which turns the liquid flow on and off rapidly and completely. A programmable logic controller (PLC) is operatively connected to the pumps and valves and can be programmed to dispense very precise different mixtures of different liquids. A touch screen visual display unit is operatively connected to the PLC to provide substantial data on a number of different screen displays.

1 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid comprising; 
 a. at least one liquid container;    b. a gear driven measuring pump operatively connected to said liquid container; and    c. an solenoid valve operatively connected to said gear driven measuring pump downstream from said gear driven measuring pump.    
   
   
       2 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 1  further comprising means for turning said gear driven measuring pump on and opening said solenoid valve simultaneously and means for turning said gear driven measuring pump off and closing said solenoid valve simultaneously.  
   
   
       3 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 2  further comprising means for controlling the time that said gear driven measuring pump is pumping.  
   
   
       4 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 1  further comprising an aperture in a bottom wall of said liquid container and means for conveying a liquid through said aperture to said gear driven measuring pump.  
   
   
       5 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 1  further comprising means for dispensing a specific quantity of a liquid from said at least one liquid container.  
   
   
       6 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 1  further comprising a cabinet enclosing and holding said at least one liquid container and means for displaying information on a wall of said cabinet.  
   
   
       7 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 1  further comprising means for dispensing more than one liquid and means for measuring the amounts of each said liquid.  
   
   
       8 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 7  further comprising means for a user to select a particular volume of each said different liquid.  
   
   
       9 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 1  further comprising means for stopping a drinking glass in a position to receive a dispensed liquid.  
   
   
       10 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid comprising: 
 a. a plurality of liquid containers;    b. a separate gear driven measuring pump operatively connected to each of said liquid containers;    c. a separate solenoid valve operatively connected to each of said gear driven measuring pumps downstream from said gear driven measuring pump;    d. means for supplying electrical power to said solenoid valves and to said gear driven measuring pumps.    
   
   
       11 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid in accordance with  claim 10  further comprising means for dispensing a variety of different mixtures of liquids from said plurality of liquid containers.  
   
   
       12 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid in accordance with  claim 10  further comprising means for displaying a menu of different mixtures of different liquids and for automatically dispensing said mixtures separately.  
   
   
       13 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid in accordance with  claim 10  further comprising an aperture in a bottom wall of each said liquid containers and a separate connector fitting seated into said aperture of each said bottom wall.  
   
   
       14 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid in accordance with  claim 13  further comprising means for electronically tracking a history of various mixtures dispensed by said apparatus.  
   
   
       15 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid in accordance with  claim 10  further comprising automated means for priming each said gear driven measuring pump.  
   
   
       16 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid in accordance with  claim 10  further comprising automated means for generating an electronic display of mixture recipes.  
   
   
       17 . An apparatus for dispensing liquid comprising: 
 a. a plurality of liquid containers;    b. a separate gear driven measuring pump and means for operatively connecting each of said separate gear driven measuring pumps to each of said liquid containers through a separate aperture in a bottom wall of each of said plurality of liquid containers;    c. a separate solenoid valve for each of said gear driven measuring pumps and means for operatively connecting each of said separate solenoid vales to and downstream from each of said gear driven measuring pumps;    d. means for supplying electrical power to said solenoid valves and to said gear driven measuring pumps; and    e. programable logic controller operatively connected to a touch screen visual display unit fastened to a wall of a cabinet and to means for actuating each said gear driven measuring pump and each said solenoid valve.    
   
   
       18 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 17  further comprising means for cleaning an interior surface of each of said liquid containers, of each of said gear driven measuring pumps and of each of said solenoid valves and said means for connecting each of said liquid containers to each of said gear driven measuring pumps and said means for connecting each of said gear driven pumps to each of said solenoid valves.  
   
   
       19 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 17  further comprising means for notifying a public when a liquid mixture is being dispensed.  
   
   
       20 . An apparatus for dispensing liquids in accordance with  claim 17  wherein said cabinet further comprises a plurality of upstanding legs connected to a bottom wall of said cabinet and a stop member fastened to said bottom wall of said cabinet and depending therefrom.