Dual elevator large bottle vending apparatus and method

摘要

A combination vending/return apparatus includes a series of stacked counter-sloped, gravity fed track assemblies with radiused transition segments to receive and store empty large-volume bottles and to deliver pre-filled large-volume fluid-containing bottles. The apparatus is configured to accommodate, among other sizes, at least one of three (3) gallon, (4) four gallon, or (5) five gallon size bottles. A. dual elevator subassembly permits filled bottle dispensing and empty bottle receiving from a single door. The apparatus includes a processor-controlled transaction panel to make bottle selections for purchases and returns, and to handle electronic payment, promotional and credit transactions. Also disclosed is a method to vend large-volume fluid-containing bottles and retrieve used and emptied large-volume water bottles.

主权项

1. A combination bottle vending/return apparatus comprising:
an enclosure with at least one access door or panel; at least two stacked counter-sloped track assemblies secured in the enclosure and configured to support and deliver fluid-filled bottles; a dual elevator subassembly comprising a lower elevator configured to receive filled bottles from a lower track assembly of the at least two track assemblies and an upper elevator configured to receive empty bottles returned by customers and to deposit the empty bottles on an upper track assembly of the at least two track assemblies; a customer transaction panel configured to permit customer-initiated bottle vend and/or return transactions; and, a processor connected to the interface panel to send and receive signals to and from the interface panel and connected to a credit/debit/pre-paid card processor.