Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Article handling
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-24
2002-03-19
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Article handling
C700S232000, C221S002000, C221S007000, C221S085000, C221S129000, C221S1500HC
Reexamination Certificate
active
06360140
ABSTRACT:
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention consists of a product dispenser with inventory monitoring, useful for its installation in rooms of a hotel establishment or establishments providing similar services. The dispenser is of the type of dispenser that automatically dispenses the product once it has been selected, in such a way that its inventory monitoring communicates with a central control in reception or in the offices of the establishment, so that at the very moment in which a product is dispensed the price of the same is applied to the customer's account.
The dispenser of this invention is especially useful in hotel establishments and establishments providing similar services, upon being located in a room, and communicated with the central control, in such a way that the client, in his own room, will be able to select the desired product and the price thereof will be automatically placed on his bill.
Hence, the client does not have access to the inside of the dispenser, and it is only necessary for the desired product to be selected and confirmed, so that the product is dispensed and placed on the client's bill.
Hence, the management of the hotel has perfect control over the expenses of each one of its clients, in such a way that the dispensers located in the different rooms dispense the products directly upon being selected and said selection being directly confirmed, without the dispensers needing a coin selector, since operation thereof is produced by means of the corresponding pushbuttons.
The dispenser has a refrigerating equipment and the cabinet of said dispenser has a separating plate, in order to obtain two areas having different temperatures, making it possible to store products that need to be kept at a low temperature and products that are kept at room temperature, it being possible to have a large variety of products that are normally consumed by hotel clients.
FIELD OF APPLICATION
The product dispenser with inventory monitoring of this invention is especially useful in hotel establishments and establishments providing similar services for being installed in the desired rooms, the same being communicated to a central control so that at the moment at which some product is dispensed, the price thereof is placed on the client's bill, like another service of the different services that the hotel may render, for which purpose the dispenser is not coinoperated but instead operated by selection pushbuttons and a selection confirmation pushbutton.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional dispensers in hotel rooms, comprise a refrigerator at the client's disposal, and optionally a second independent compartment, for keeping other products that do not need to be kept at a low temperature.
Hence, the clients may help themselves upon having direct access in order to consume the products, making note on the sheet provided by the hotel for this purpose, and when they check out they hand in the sheet in order to pay for the products.
In this way, the clients have different products available in their own rooms and hence soft drinks, alcoholic beverages contained in small bottles, and other products such as tobacco, rolls of film, perfumes, tapes for video cameras, etc. are normally available.
For this purpose, the dispenser may have a refrigerated compartment in which the bottles of soft drinks are contained, and a second compartment for the remaining products which do not need to be kept at a low temperature.
Hence, the clients may take the desired products and make note of them on the corresponding sheet provided for this purpose by the management of the hotel, so that when the sheet is handed in at the reception desk the products are paid for.
This form of operation has different inconveniences and hence, the first one of them is that if the clients do not report the acquired products, or they have not made note of them, when they check out of the establishment the management thereof does not make a check and the unreported acquired products are not paid for, which means an economic loss for the hotel.
Likewise, it may happen that certain unscrupulous clients, once certain beverages have been drunk, fill up the containers with other products, which is hardly detectable by the management of the hotel, but it may bring about serious inconveniences for the management of the hotel because of claims by third parties who consume such adulterated products.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the aforecited inconveniences, a product dispenser with inventory monitoring which is of the type of dispensers that include a refrigerating equipment and product selection pushbuttons, is presented. The dispenser of this invention is communicated with a central control, and comprises, in addition to the selection pushbuttons,
a selection confirmation pushbutton;
a separating plate in horizontal position that defines a first compartment and a second compartment in order to allow keeping these compartments at different temperatures;
a plurality of compartmentalized trays in the first compartment and in the second compartment, trays in which tray compartments are defined;
a plurality of conveyor belts, one per each one of the tray compartments of the compartmentalized trays, each one of the conveyor belts being provided with a plurality of separators between which the products are positioned;
a closing gate of an access opening to a box for receiving a dispensed product;
a channel through which a selected product falls;
a pivoting first strip over the closing gate of the access opening along the entire length of the front of the dispenser;
a sensor selected from a microswitch or a photocell being activated by the first strip upon being collapsed by a fallen dispensed product that has been previously selected, in such a way that the first strip itself operates as a damper in the fall of the products.
To obtain a product from the dispenser, it must be be selected by means of one of the selection pushbuttons, and then the selection confirmation pushbutton must be actuated, whereby the unitary dispensing mechanism corresponding to the selected product is actuated and the product is dispensed.
The separating plate in horizontal position that defines a first compartment and a second compartment at different temperatures, has a length similar to the length of the front of the dispenser and a width less than that of the width of the dispenser, thereby defining a channel along the entire length of the front of the dispenser, channel through which the products fall to the box for receiving the dispensed products.
The compartmentalized trays have, in each one of their respective tray compartments, conveyor belts provided with separators, arranged depending on the size of the products to be contained.
For loading the dispenser, the compartmentalized trays are movable towards the front outside of the dispenser on a plurality of guides this facilitating the loading operation to the person responsible therefor.
Inside and over the closing gate of the access opening to the box for receiving the dispensed products, the dispenser has a first strip that pivots with respect to an axis above the pivotal axis of the closing gate itself of the access opening, which encompasses the entire length of the front of the dispenser, and upon which the products to be dispensed fall, the strip in its pivotation actuating a sensor means selected from microswitches and photocells that communicates to the central control that the product has been dispensed, it being possible to directly charge the corresponding client's bill with the price thereof.
Opposite the first strip that activates the sensor means and the closing gate of the access opening to the box for receiving the dispensed products, the dispenser has a second strip whose free end is close to the free end of the first strip that activates the sensor menas, at the same time that it is above the pivoting end of the closing gate of the access opening restricting pivotation thereof and preventing a possible access to the insid
Ellis Christopher P.
Jofemar, S.A.
Klauber & Jackson
Macky Patrick
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