Bottled water center
View Patent ↗A bottle return station preferably with a dispensing station provides for the receipt of empty bottles. Bottles are provided through an acceptor which accepts bottles having a particular configuration while not accepting others. The empty bottle returns are guided to a receiving station where they can be retrieved by an operator. Meanwhile a dispensing station can be accessed by users.
1. A kiosk for receiving return bottles, the kiosk comprising:
a return station having an opening sized to receive bottles having a predetermined cross-sectional shape;
a recovery station positioned below the return station;
one or more tracks extending between the return station and the recovery station, wherein the tracks are configured to direct the bottles from the return station to the recovery station using gravity; and
a dispensing station positioned between the return station and the recovery station, wherein the dispensing station is configured to store a plurality of full bottles available for purchase at the kiosk.
2. The kiosk of claim 1 wherein the opening includes a perimeter shaped to receive horizontally oriented bottles.
3. The kiosk of claim 1 wherein the tracks are configured to support the bottles rolling on a side surface in a horizontal orientation.
4. The kiosk of claim 1 wherein the tracks include side directors configured to support dispensing ends of the bottles.
5. The kiosk of claim 1 wherein the return station comprises:
a latch proximate the opening and configured to contact an exterior portion of a bottle as it is received in the opening; and
a stop plate operably coupled to the latch, wherein the stop plate is configured to restrict access through the opening until the latch contacts the exterior portion of the bottle.
6. The kiosk of claim 1 , further comprising a door configured to restrict access to the bottles stored at the recovery station when the recovery station is in an in-use mode and allow access to the bottles when the recovery station is in a recovery mode.
7. The kiosk of claim 1 wherein the tracks comprise:
a first stage extending between a first point proximate the opening and a second point positioned laterally apart from and vertically below the first point;
a second stage extending from the second point to a third point vertically below the second point; and
a third stage extending from the third point to a fourth point proximate the recovery station, wherein the third point is positioned laterally apart from and vertically above the fourth point.
8. The kiosk of claim 1 , further comprising a processor configured to identify positions of at least some of the bottles received by the kiosk and indicate when the kiosk is at least partially full of received bottles.
9. The kiosk of claim 1 wherein:
the return station, the recovery station, and the dispensing station are positioned at the same side of the kiosk;
the perimeter of the opening is configured to receive individual bottles in a horizontal orientation;
the return station includes a stop plate at least partially blocking the opening and a plurality of latches at the opening and operably coupled to the stop plate, wherein the stop plate moves away from the opening in response to the plurality of latches contacting the bottles having the predetermined cross-sectional shape;
the recovery station has an in-use configuration wherein the recovery station is not accessible from the exterior of the kiosk by consumers and a recovery configuration wherein the recovery station is accessible from the exterior of the kiosk by an operator; and
the tracks direct the bottles in a sequential order from the return station to the recovery station, the tracks being configured to maintain the bottles in the horizontal orientation from the return station to the recovery station.
10. The kiosk of claim 1 , further comprising:
a processor configured to detect receipt of the bottles at the return station; and
a ticket dispenser operably coupled to the processor and configured to dispense a ticket in response to receipt of the bottles.
11. The kiosk of claim 1 wherein the dispensing station includes a plurality of head receivers, each head receiver being configured to retain an upper portion of one of the full bottles units and prevent removal of the full bottles.
12. The kiosk of claim 11 , further comprising a processor operably coupled to the head receivers, the processor being configured to release one of the stocked units from the corresponding head receiver after receiving payment for the stocked unit and identify when a supply of the stocked units is depleted via signals from the head receivers.
13. The kiosk of claim 1 wherein the kiosk has a footprint, and wherein at least a portion of the recovery station and at least a portion of the dispensing station are within the same portion of the footprint.
14. A kiosk for receiving empty containers from consumers, the kiosk comprising:
a return station having a means for receiving empty containers having a predetermined cross-sectional shape and reject empty containers not having the predetermined cross-sectional shape;
a recovery station positioned below the return station, wherein the recovery station is configured to provide access to the empty containers by an operator when the kiosk is in a recovery configuration;
one or more guides that direct the empty bottles in a horizontal orientation from the return station to the recovery station; and
a dispensing station spaced vertically between the return station and the recovery station, wherein the dispensing station is configured to store a plurality of full containers available for purchase at the kiosk, and wherein at least a portion of the dispensing station occupies the same surface space as at least one of the return station or the recovery station.
15. The kiosk of claim 14 wherein the means for receiving empty containers includes an opening having a perimeter at least generally defined by the predetermined cross-sectional shape, and wherein the opening is configured to receive empty containers in a horizontal orientation.
16. The kiosk of claim 14 wherein the means for receiving empty containers includes a latch having a blocking configuration and an accept configuration, wherein the latch moves from the blocking configuration to the accept configuration when the latch contacts a predetermined portion of an empty container and moves back to the blocking configuration after the empty container passes by the latch.
17. The kiosk of claim 14 wherein the means for receiving empty containers includes an opening having a perimeter defined by a predetermined size of a horizontally oriented empty water bottle.
18. The kiosk of claim 14 wherein the kiosk has a front side and a back side, wherein the return station and the recovery station are at the front side, and wherein the guides include:
a first stage for directing the empty containers from the return station at the front side toward the back side;
a second stage proximate the back side; and
a third stage for directing bottles from the second stage to the recovery station at the front side, and wherein the second stage is configured to direct the empty containers from the first stage to the third stage.
19. The kiosk of claim 14 , further comprising a processor operably coupled to the return station, wherein the processor is configured to detect receipt of empty containers via the return station and indicate to an operator when the kiosk should be emptied of the empty containers.
20. The kiosk of claim 14 wherein the return station, the recovery station, and the dispensing station are at a front side of the kiosk, and wherein the guides direct the empty containers from the return station at the front side of the kiosk toward a back side of the kiosk behind the dispensing station, and then forward toward the recovery station.
21. A method of receiving empty bottles at a kiosk, the method comprising:
receiving bottles having a predetermined cross-sectional shape via a return station of the kiosk;
rejecting, via the return station, bottles having a cross-sectional shape different from the predetermined cross-sectional shape;
directing the received bottles from the return station to a recovery station positioned below the return station;
storing the received bottles in the kiosk, wherein the received bottles are removable from the kiosk at the recovery station when the kiosk is in a recovery configuration that allows an operator to remove the bottles;
detecting the receipt of a bottle at the return station; and
dispensing a ticket to a consumer via a ticket dispenser, the ticket having a value associated with the received bottle.
22. The method of claim 21 wherein receiving bottles having the predetermined cross-sectional shape comprises receiving bottles in a horizontal orientation through an opening having a perimeter at least generally similar to the predetermined cross-sectional shape.
23. The method of claim 21 wherein receiving bottles having the predetermined cross-sectional shape comprises:
contacting a portion of each bottle with one or more latches at the return station; and
moving a stop plate away from the return station in response to the latches contacting the portion of the bottle.
24. A method of receiving empty bottles at a kiosk, the method comprising:
receiving bottles having a predetermined cross-sectional shape via a return station of the kiosk;
rejecting, via the return station, bottles having a cross-sectional shape different from the predetermined cross-sectional shape;
directing the received bottles from the return station to a recovery station positioned below the return station;
storing the received bottles in the kiosk, wherein the received bottles are removable from the kiosk at the recovery station when the kiosk is in a recovery configuration that allows an operator to remove the bottles;
storing full bottles at a dispensing station positioned between the recovery station and the return station;
receiving payment for at least one of the full bottles; and
releasing the at least one full bottle from the dispensing station.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein directing the received bottles comprises moving the received bottles along one or more tracks from the return station to the recovery station, wherein the tracks support the received bottles in a horizontal orientation.
26. The method of claim 24 wherein the return station and the recovery station are positioned at a front side of the kiosk, and wherein directing the received bottles comprises:
directing the received bottles from the return station toward a back side of the kiosk;
moving the received bottles downward in a generally vertical direction proximate the back side of the kiosk; and
directing the received bottles from the back side of the kiosk to the recovery station at the front side.