Apparatus and method for water bottle return
AssigneeZephyr Fluid Solutions, LLC
InventorPatrick E. Wind
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for receiving a recyclable product is disclosed herein. In one embodiment the apparatus includes: a structure defining an interior cavity, the structure having a plurality of walls; a bottle return mechanism for determining when a bottle has been received within the interior cavity, comprising: an elongated cylinder providing a passage into the interior cavity, the elongated cylinder having an inlet opening proximate to an exterior of the enclosed structure and an outlet opening proximate to the interior cavity; a bottle return mechanism configured to provide an output when a bottle has been inserted into the elongated cylinder; and a dispensing rack secured to one of the walls of the enclosure.
Claims20
An apparatus for receiving a recyclable product, comprising:
- a structure defining an interior cavity, the structure having a plurality of walls;
- a bottle return mechanism for determining when a bottle has been received within the interior cavity, comprising:
- an elongated cylinder providing a passage into the interior cavity, the elongated cylinder having an inlet opening proximate to an exterior of the enclosed structure and an outlet opening proximate to the interior cavity;
- a bottle return mechanism configured to provide an output when a bottle has been inserted into the elongated cylinder;
- and
- a dispensing rack secured to one of the walls of the enclosure.
A method for recycling a water bottle, comprising:
- inserting the water bottle into a bottle return mechanism of a structure, the bottle return mechanism being configured to determine when a bottle has been received within an internal cavity of the structure by passing though an elongated cylinder that provides a passage into the internal cavity;
- providing a receipt when the water bottle has been inserted into the internal cavity;
- and
- providing a plurality of filled water bottles located on a dispensing rack secured to at least one wall of the structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.