Stir stick forming assembly for a stir stick dispenser in a beverage vending machine
AssigneeEvoca S.P.A.
InventorDan Alexie Sirbu Villa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stir stick forming assembly for a stir stick dispenser in a beverage vending machine comprises an inlet passage for a tape for forming the stir sticks, an outlet opening for the stir sticks, and, between the inlet passage and the outlet opening, a tape feeding assembly to feed the tape and a tape cutting assembly to transversally cut the tape and form the sticks. The tape feeding and cutting assemblies are driven by a single common electric motor and designed to feed the tape when the electric motor is rotated in one rotation direction and to cut the tape when the electric motor is driven in the opposite rotation direction under the control of a command and control unit.
Claims14
1-13. (canceled)
A stir stick forming assembly for a stir stick dispenser of a beverage vending machine;
- the stir stick forming assembly comprising:
- a mounting frame to allow the stir stick forming assembly to be mounted to a fixed body;
- an inlet passage for a tape;
- an outlet opening for the stir sticks;
- a tape feeding member to feed the tape to the outlet opening;
- first motorized means to drive the tape feeding member;
- a tape cutting member to transversally cut the tape;
- second motorized means to drive the tape cutting member;
- wherein the first and second motorized driving means include a single common electric motor;
- command and control means are provided to cause the single common electric motor to rotate in one rotation direction to operate the tape feeding member and in the opposite rotation direction to operate the tape cutting member;
- wherein the first motorized means and the second motorized means are arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of a vertical laying plane where an axis of a rotating shaft of the single common electric motor lays;
- and
- a mechanical transmission to direct a torque delivered by the single common electric motor along two parallel branches and, for each of the two parallel branches, to a respective support shaft and including, for each support shaft, a respective motion inlet bevel gear idly rotatably mounted on the respective support shaft;
- wherein a first one of the support shafts is part of the first motorized means and a second one of the support shafts is part of the second motorized means;
- the first and second motorized means further include, respectively, first and second one-way angular motion transmission assemblies supported, respectively, by the first support shaft and by the second support shaft and configured to drive the tape feeding member when the single common electric motor is operated to rotate in one rotation direction and to drive the tape cutting member when the electric motor is operated to rotate in the opposite rotation direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.