Patent Application
20170228959
The present invention is directed to a vending machine adapted to be operated by customers of perfume stores and provide, either with the aid of a store attendant or through a customer operated prepayment mechanism, a selected quantity of a predetermined range of quantities of selected distinct perfumes.
Vending machines providing selected blends of liquids are known in the prior art. Vending machines selling coffee and other hot or cold beverages, as well as other liquid products including perfumes are broadly used.
GB-2433735 to Warrick discloses a coin operated perfume vending machine that is securely mounted onto a wall and a user has to pull a handle, after having inserted a coin, in order to activate discharge of a spray of perfume from an outlet nozzle of the machine into his hand.
DE-4138004 discloses a perfume dispenser that automatically dispenses a range of perfume types. It contains a number of perfume reservoirs, a coin mechanism, a membrane air pump, a spray nozzle, an air reservoir and a control mechanism with an electromagnetic drive to the spray nozzle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,487 to Little discloses a fluid dispensing system comprising a tank for a fluid and a vessel having a restricted entry aperture for extracting a quantity of the fluid from the tank and for directing the extracted fluid to one or more selected receptacles. In use, the vessel is adapted for rotary passage through the tank, whereby, during a rotary cycle of the vessel, air exhausts through an outlet pipe positioned exteriorly of the tank as fluid ingresses into the vessel through the aperture in a filling operation, whereas air flows through the aperture as fluid is dispensed through the outlet pipe in a dispensing operation.
Further coin operated machinery has been developed for delivering blends of distinct scents. WO-02/05200 to the Procter and Gamble Company discloses a method, an apparatus and a composition for customizing the combination of fragrances. U.S. Pat. No.8,490,873 to Behbehani discloses a vending machine for dispensing selected blends of perfumes in response to the deposit of a pre-selected amount of money. The machine comprises a plurality of containers, each containing a particular distinct scent. The user selects desired quantities of one or more distinct scents and a mechanism is initiated for blending the selected scents in the selected percentages, providing a sample to the customer, receiving payment for a desired quantity of the blend and thereafter providing a bottle with the selected blend to the customer.
Prior art devices, although having revealed various machinery assemblies adapted to deliver perfumes, usually after payment of a specified amount through a coin operated mechanism, are confronted with a number of drawbacks associated with the equipment and the process employed in filling bottles of selected volume with a selected scent, such equipment and process adversely affecting the quality of the product delivered.
One drawback is related to the long term maintenance of the perfumes offered for sale under varying ambient temperatures that adversely affects the quality of the product. Further the maintenance of the perfumes within conventional commercially available containers that contain air and/or the use of air in bottle filling and dispensing operations as is the case with U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,487 also leads to deterioration of the perfume product, since the presence of air results in oxidation and gradual loss of the most volatile essential constituents of the perfume product. Furthermore the employment of air in perfume bottling and dispensing operations leads to an uncontrolled dispersion of varying odors of different perfumes bought by customers in the atmosphere, such multi-odorous atmosphere creating an undesired environment for the promotion of sales of varying distinct scents.
Yet another drawback of perfume vending machinery of the prior art that deliver a plurality of distinct scents is that a single motor/pump assembly and/or a single duct circuit connecting the plurality of distinct scent containing receptacles to the bottle filled with the selected scent at the point of delivery of the bottled perfume product is employed and this undoubtedly creates an issue of purity of the product being delivered, since the perfume bottling operation is being implemented with the same equipment for all successive sales of distinct scents. Furthermore the ordinary arrangement of bottle filling operations in perfume vending machinery of the prior art being performed within a specific predetermined period of time using timer controlled pumping means for specified selected varying quantities of perfumes being bought often leads to inaccuracies in the quantity of the final product being delivered.
An object of the invention is to provide an air-free filling process of specially designed containers with the perfumes and storage of the same, thereby assuring a long term product quality that would be otherwise deteriorated due to oxidation occurring as a result of exposure thereof to ambient air and averting discharge of varying scents in the environment that would create an undesirable atmosphere of mixed odors. In this respect the invention proposes employment of perfume containers characterized by an enhanced elasticity that provides their air-tight self-sealing at all instances, whether they are thoroughly or partially filled with the perfume product, wherein this property of the perfume containers has been adequately tested and certified.
Another object of the invention is the employment of dedicated independent perfume supply circuits for administering a predetermined precise quantity of absolutely pure perfume from each one of the plurality of containers that contain an equivalent number of distinct perfumes to a bottle being placed within an appropriately designed perfume receiving slot provided onto the façade of the perfume vending machine of the invention, each independent perfume supply circuit assigned to circulation of a single distinct perfume and comprising its own pump and ducts for the delivery of perfume from each particular container to a bottle filled with the perfume contained in this container during a purchase operation of this particular perfume.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cooling system appropriate and efficient for the maintenance of the temperature of the perfume containers at desired levels ensuring a long term standard quality of the perfumes stored in the containers. In this respect a further object of the invention is to accomplish the housing wherein perfume containers are accommodated in such a manner as to ensure an efficient cooling of the specific compartment wherein the perfume containers are being stored.
Another object of the invention is to provide a smartly designed housing of the vending machine of the invention, which, whilst being of a size comparable to the size of ordinary known related machinery of the prior art, would nevertheless appropriately house the extended equipment of the machine of the invention that comprises the air-cooling system adapted to maintain the perfume containers at a desired relatively low temperature, as well as the plurality of independent perfume supply circuits, each with separate pump and duct means for each distinct perfume contained in each specific container and a plurality of perfume bottling assembly units and associated drive units thereof arranged to handle delivery of these distinct perfumes
A further object of the invention is to provide computer aided control of the entire process of selling selected quantities of selected distinct perfumes with the vending machine of the invention alternatively offered in the mode of perfume sale with the aid of a store attendant or in the mode of a customer operated prepayment mechanism for buying selected quantities of a predetermined range of quantities of selected distinct perfumes.
The invention will be best understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
The invention will be hereinafter described by reference to the illustrative embodiments presented in the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
As shown in the exploded view of
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the frontal side 1a of the housing 1 is further provided with an appropriately spaced circumferential arrangement of holes 7 adapted to receive an equivalent number of protruding pins provided on the interior of a transparent facade 2 that is mounted onto the housing 1 with a scope of aesthetic perfection of the machine.
The transparent facade 2 is by way of example being made from a solid transparent plastic, e.g. Plexiglas or other appropriate material, and comprises a frontal side 2a and side flanges 2b, 2c that extend bilaterally beyond the housing 1 of the machine so as to provide a gap in between said side flanges 2b, 2c and the corresponding lateral sides 1b, 1c of housing 1 (
As shown in the exploded view of
A pair of planks 31, 32 is employed to define the vertically extending lateral walls of the perfume container compartment 3. Each plank 31, 32 is provided with vertically extending arrays of appropriately spaced openings 31a, 32a respectively. A plurality of tubes 33 (
A frame 30b is mounted onto the pair of planks 31, 32, wherein frame 30b is adapted to receive a covering panel 30a that air-tightly closes the perfume container compartment 3 at the rear of housing 1. A plurality of perfume containers 70 are stacked onto the racks formed by the arrays of tubes 33 and by a plurality of wires 39 interconnecting each adjacently located pair of tubes 33 (
As shown in
A pair of openings 9a, 9b is provided at the top of the housing 1, such openings constituting the inlet and/or outlet ports of the air that enters the interior of the housing 1 and is used to provide ventilation of compartments 13, 14, 15 accommodating the perfume bottling assembly units 50, the condenser and compressor units of the air cooling system used for maintaining the perfume containers at a desired predetermined relatively low temperature and the electrical/electronic equipment respectively.
A closed circuit air cooling system is employed for maintaining the perfume containers within the lower compartment 3 at a desired predetermined relatively low temperature of the order of 10° C. thereby affording the advantages referred to in the introductory chapter of the present. As mentioned hereinabove the compartment 3 is closed in an air tight manner with panel 30b at the rear of the housing 1 following completion of the rack structure, loading of a predetermined number of perfume containers 70 thereupon, each containing a distinct perfume and extracting through the openings 11a the plurality of pipes 81 each deriving from each one of the containers 70 to be led to the perfume bottling assemblies in the overlying compartment 13. Access into the compartment 3 is thereafter being made through the frontal sliding gate 30 of the housing. When the pair of planks 31, 32 defining the vertically extending lateral walls of the perfume container compartment are put in place, they are distant from the adjacent lateral walls of the housing 1, so as to form vertically extending channels 36, 37 respectively wherein air flows as will be described hereinafter. As shown in
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the closed circuit air cooling system employed for maintaining the perfume containers at a desired predetermined relatively low temperature comprises the condenser 16 and compressor 17 housed within the upper compartment 14 of the housing 1 and an evaporator/exchanger unit 18 mounted onto the lower horizontally extending plank 11 that forms the ceiling of the perfume container compartment 3 in a manner such as to ensure that the air discharged through this evaporator/exchanger unit 18 is being led through the abovementioned transversal opening 11b at one end of plank 11 within the abovementioned channel 36 in between the lateral wall 1c of housing 1 and the vertically extending lateral wall 31 of the perfume container compartment 3. A piping network 8a, 8b wherein flows a refrigerant medium, e.g. Freon, connects the condenser 16 to the evaporator/exchanger unit 18 and as a result air flowing in the evaporator/exchanger unit 18 is cooled and is discharged downwardly through the transversal opening 11b provided onto the plank 11, whereby a cool air stream is provided within channel 36 formed in between the lateral wall 1c of the housing 1 and the vertically extending lateral wall 31 of the perfume container compartment 3, the air being subsequently introduced into compartment 3 through the elongate opening 35 of the vertically extending lateral wall 31 thereof, as well as through the openings 31a of the latter, whereby after having passed through the perfume containers 70 stacked within compartment 3, air being discharged through the transversal opening 34 located close to the bottom of the vertically extending lateral wall 32 of the perfume container compartment 3, as well as through the openings 32a thereof, into the channel 37 formed in between the lateral wall 1b of the housing 1 and the vertically extending lateral wall 32 of the perfume container compartment 3, whereby it is being sucked into a duct 28 that is oriented longitudinally along plank 11 with one funnel-shaped end connected to the evaporator/exchanger unit 18 and its other end fitted onto the round opening 11c of plank 11, whereby the air having an increased temperature after having passed through the perfume container compartment 3 is being guided through the duct 28 back into the evaporator/exchanger unit 18 wherein it is being cooled and driven again downwardly to perform another cooling cycle of the perfume containers 70 stacked within perfume container compartment 3. It is herein noted that an appropriately tapped opening 1d is provided at the bottom of the housing 1, such opening being used to periodically remove possible matter of condensates formed within the perfume container compartment 3 during the cooling thereof.
In an illustrative example of the invention, a total of sixty containers 70, each containing a distinct perfume are being stored within the perfume container compartment 3, a pipe 81 being connected at the orifice 73 of each perfume container 70, whereby a total of sixty pipes 81 is provided within the perfume container compartment 3, such pipes being grouped in bundles and guided through the openings 11a at the top plank 11 of compartment 3 to pass into the overlying compartment 13 with the perfume bottling assemblies. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention pipes 81 are being assembled in groups of fifteen pipes, thereby forming four bundles of pipes 81, each bundle passing through one of the four openings 11a into the overlying perfume bottling compartment 13.
A diagrammatic illustration of a typical perfume supply duct circuit that is employed in the machine of the invention for a perfume bottling operation is shown in
As shown in
These three identical rotating perfume bottling assembly units 50 are adjacently mounted within the compartment 13 of the vending machine, each one of these three perfume bottling assembly units 50 being adapted to deliver twenty distinct perfumes. An equivalent number of pumps 80 adapted to provide supply of each one of the sixty distinct perfumes being provided are stacked in columnar arrays in between the three identical rotating perfume bottling assembly units 50.
As shown in the illustrative perspective view of one such perfume bottling assembly 50 presented in
A carrier of the tubular needles 83 illustratively shown in
c show the clamp 87a of one tubular needle 83 having been displaced downwardly from a rest position close to the upper annular flange 84 to a position close to the lower annular flange 85, whereby an appropriate length of this tubular needle 83 extends beyond and downwardly the perfume bottling assembly 50 to be guided within a bottle 41 that has been mounted within a perfume dispensing unit 40 in order to be filled with the perfume corresponding to the supply circuit of this particular tubular needle 83.
As shown in
As noted from the frontal perspective view of the machine of the invention, it comprises three monitors 60, each monitor 60 associated with a corresponding one of the rotating perfume bottling assemblies 50 and therefore being adapted to offer guided assistance for the purchase of any of the twenty perfumes deliverable by this perfume bottling assembly unit 50 that handles delivery of this particular group of perfumes. Each of the monitors 60, whilst at an idle condition wherein a perfume purchase operation has not been initiated, displays a series of tabs, each tab provided with identification particulars of a single distinct perfume. The potential customer first locates the monitor that provides the perfume he wishes to buy and then the particular tab leading to provision of this particular perfume. If the machine operates with the assistance of a store attendant, it is the store attendant who can guide the customer to the specific tab or else, if the machine operates without a store attendant, the customer may be guided to the particular tab with the aid of an alphabetical list of the perfumes or other appropriate guiding assortment.
As shown in the illustrative process diagram of
Then the monitor displays the message “PLEASE SELECT CONTAINER TYPE” and provides an indication of the container types available. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention a series of tabs displays available container types with a capacity of 30, 50 and 100 ml. In addition a tab displaying the indication SAMPLE is provided. The customer then, during the second step 102 of the perfume purchase operation, proceeds in the selection of the container type and presses the button labeled “NEXT” in order to proceed to the next step.
Thereafter the monitor displays the message “PLEASE INSERT AMOUNT” and provides an indication of the perfume product selected in previous step 101, of the container type selected in previous step 102 and of the amount to be paid for the purchase of this particular perfume and quantity that has been selected. At this stage the customer may either confirm the purchase and proceed with payment or return to the previous screen (step 102) to change the container type or still to the previous screen (step 101) to change the perfume being selected by pressing a button labeled “BACK” available in either screen.
If the customer chooses to confirm the purchase particulars being displayed, payment is being effected either with the assistance of a store attendant who receives the money or credit card from the customer and issues a payment receipt with a cash register that is provided in the shop without being connected to the vending machine of the invention. Alternatively the customer may proceed with payment through the bill and coin insertion unit 20 if such is provided. In this case the customer sequentially inserts coins and bills in slots 21, 22 of unit 20 respectively and receives change if any through cavity 23 and payment receipt through slot 25 thereof.
Having fulfilled payment in step 103 of the perfume purchase process, the customer has to press the button labeled “NEXT” to be led to the next step 104, wherein the monitor displays the message “PLEASE CONFIRM CONTAINER PRESENCE AND PRESS RUN”. It is at this stage that the customer is provided with a container of the type that has been selected in step 102, such container either being handed to him by a store attendant or made available from a locked tray of containers provided adjacently to the vending machine of the invention. The customer has then to uncap the container and place it in the perfume bottle dispensing unit 40 that is being located axially below the specific monitor 60 handling this particular perfume purchase operation. In case of selection of a SAMPLE during the container type selection step, a small piece of appropriate paper carton is provided and placed within the same perfume bottle dispensing unit 40. After having placed this container within the perfume bottle dispensing unit 40 and having pressed the button labeled “RUN” during step 104 of the perfume purchase process, the monitor displays the message “PLEASE WAIT WHILE CONTAINER IS FILLED” and the perfume supply process is initiated (step 105), whereby either a few drops of the particular perfume are provided onto a sample paper carton or the specified perfume quantity is being provided through the perfume supplying tubular needle 83 part of the perfume supply circuit associated with this particular perfume. After completion of the perfume supplying process, the customer may remove the filled bottle from the perfume bottle dispensing unit 40 and appropriately cup it, whereby the monitor displays the message “THANK YOU FOR YOUR PURCHASE” that signifies successful completion of the purchase process. A self-adhesive tape containing indication of the perfume type and quantity that has been purchased and further identification particulars of the shop wherein the purchase was performed or further instructions of use of the perfume can be printed at the completion of a purchase process and delivered to the customer, who may stick such self-adhesive tape onto the bottle filled with the purchased perfume.
While hereinabove the invention has been described by reference to various preferred embodiments, it is to be appreciated that these are for illustrative purposes only and that those skilled in the art will realize that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention; it is therefore intended to include such changes and modifications falling within the scope of the invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GR2014/000045 | 8/13/2014 | WO | 00 |
