Chassis assembly
Disclosed is a rotary valve and rotary disk fluid dispensing system that sanitizes valve ports using UV radiation during non-use. Steam and ozinated water can also be used for stripping and disinfecting portions of the dispenser that can be accessed by the public. The system also uses detectors including hall detectors and a camera to inspect for blockage of valve ports, tampering or improper operation of the rotary valve disc.
1. A method of dispensing fluid from a dispenser to a user into a container at a user access point in a fluid stream comprising:
isolating a point of vend port that dispenses said fluid from said user access point with a rotary disk that forms a physical barrier between said point of vend port and said user access point;
isolating said point of vend port from said rotary disk with a shutter that forms a physical barrier between said point of vend port and said user access point during an idle state of said dispenser;
irradiating said point of vend port during said idle state with a UV lamp mounted on said shutter;
aligning an idle port in said rotary disk with said point of vend port during an idle state so that said container can be aligned by a user with said fluid stream during said dispensing of said fluid;
aligning a vend port in said rotary disk with said point of vend port during a vend state so that said fluid stream passes from said point of vend port through said vend port during said vend state;
providing said rotary disk so that an indicator is visible to said user during said vend state and said idle state so that said user can align said container with said fluid stream during said idle state;
rotating said rotary disk so that said vend port is aligned with said point of vend port during said vend state and said idle port is aligned with said point of vend port during said idle state.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said process of rotating said rotary disk is performed by a geneva driver coupled to a drive motor and a geneva gear coupled to said rotary disk.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
illuminating said clear portion of said rotary disk so that said vend port and said idle port are visible to said user.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
illuminating a lower portion of said rotary disk with a UV light to sterilize said lower portion of said rotary disk;
illuminating an upper portion of said rotary disk with a UV light to sterilize said upper portion of said rotary disk.
5. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
sterilizing said rotary disk with an ozinated water spray.
6. The method of claim 4 further comprising:
sterilizing said rotary disk with steam.