DEVICE FOR DISPENSING BEVERAGE CANS Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to a device for dispensing beverage cans to be applied, for example, to a stand-alone refrigerator or a combination refrigerator-freezer, for dispensing refrigerated beverage cans through the front door of the refrigerator. Background of the Invention There are known from the prior art different devices for individually dispensing cans of carbonated or not carbonated beverages through the front door of a stand-alone refrigerator or a combination refrigerator-freezer, aiming at minimizing the opening operations of the refrigerator door by the user, in order to obtain refrigerated beverage cans. It is well known that the lesser the door is open the greater will be the energetic efficiency of its operation under the same load and ambient conditions . A dispenser device of beverage cans of the type mentioned above is described in patent application US 2005/015900A1 and comprises a can storage chute, mounted inside the refrigerator and constructed to store a plurality of beverage cans, which are arranged side by side so as to be released, usually by gravity, one by one, through a discharge end of a storage chute. Said device further comprises a rotating drum which presents a portion for receiving a beverage can released from the storage chute, and a closing portion capable to block the discharge end of the storage chute when the drum is rotated to a position for releasing, to the user, the can previously lodged in the receiving portion of the drum.

While operating adequately, the previous solution cited above requires a relatively complex assembly to

guarantee a controlled and smooth rotation of the drum and also an adequate sealing between its side surface and the adjacent walls of the refrigerator door, to prevent the cold air from escaping from the interior of the refrigerator to the external ambient.

Another dispenser device is described in patent US 4.485.937 and comprises, besides the storage chute, an extracting lever, medianly articulated in a lower region of an opening provided in the refrigerator door and carrying, in an outer end, a can receiving cradle and, in an end inside the refrigerator, an extracting element. Upon the angular movement of the extracting lever by the user, the extracting element elevates the first can of the storage chute, releasing it from a fixed stop provided in the discharge end of the chute, allowing said can to roll over the lever, through the opening of the refrigerator door, towards the can receiving cradle, and be retrieved by the user. The extracting element is constructed so as to retain the second can of the storage chute in the original position, while the first can is displaced over the fixed stop, ceasing to operate only when the lever returns to the rest position, allowing the second can of the storage chute to roll over the extracting element, coming to occupy the first position.

This second known solution presents a simple construction, less complex and costly than that previously discussed. However, this second construction turns difficult the provision of efficient thermal insulating means in the opening region of the refrigerator door, through which is mounted the oscillating extracting lever. The difficulty in obtaining an adequate thermal insulation in this region of the refrigerator door compromises the thermal efficiency of said refrigerator or

considerably increases the cost of the mounting arrangement as a whole . Summary of the Invention

As a function of the inconveniences mentioned above and related to the known solutions, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for dispensing beverage cans, to be applied to a refrigerator, for dispensing beverage cans through a dispensing opening in the refrigerator front door, said device presenting a simple and resistant construction, which guarantees an adequate degree of thermal insulation in the region of the dispensing opening provided in the front door. According to the invention, the present device for dispensing beverage cans comprises: a chute disposed in the interior of the refrigerator and configured to receive and lodge a plurality of beverage cans disposed side by side, to be sequentially discharged through an outlet opening of the chute; a dispensing porthole externally carrying a cradle and being inferiorly and horizontally articulated in the front door, internally to the refrigerator, so as to be manually and angularly displaced between a closed position, in which it blocks the dispensing opening, positioning the cradle externally to said dispensing opening and manually accessible to the user, and an open position, in which it projects inclinedly upwardly and inwardly of the refrigerator, so as to block the dispensing opening with the cradle; and an extracting lever, which is medianly and horizontally articulated internally to the refrigerator, so as to be angularly displaced, upon movement of the dispensing porthole to the open position, from a non- operative position to an operative position, in which it displaces the first beverage can of the chute,

releasing it through the outlet opening of said chute and gravitationally conducting said can to the cradle, rolling said can over the dispensing porthole. The extracting lever is usually constantly forced to the non-operative position.

The construction defined above is carried out by means of components presenting a relatively simple and resistant construction, allowing for an improved thermal insulation of the region of the refrigerator front door, in which the dispensing opening is provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described below, with reference to the enclosed drawings, given by way of example of an embodiment of the invention and in which:

Figure 1 represents a front perspective view of a refrigerator provided with the dispenser device object of the present invention; Figure Ia represents a front perspective view of a refrigerator provided with the present dispenser device and having its front door open to illustrate the positioning of the chute;

Figure 2 represents a partial and simplified vertical sectional view of a refrigerator provided with the present dispenser device in a non-operative position; Figure 3 represents an enlarged detail of part of figure 2, illustrating the dispensing porthole being displaced to an open position and displacing the extracting lever to an operative position; Figure 4 represents a view similar to that of figure

3, but illustrating the dispensing porthole in the open position and the extracting lever in the operative position, releasing the first beverage can from the chute; Figure 5 represents a view similar to that of figure

4, but illustrating the first beverage can released from the chute and already gravitationally rolled to the outer cradle of the dispensing porthole; Figure 6 represents a view similar to that of figures 3-5, but illustrating the dispensing porthole returned to the closed position, with its outer cradle carrying a beverage can released from the chute, and with the extracting lever returned to the non-operative position; Figure 7 represents a front perspective view of the dispensing porthole;

Figure 8 represents an exploded perspective view of the components of the dispensing porthole illustrated in figure 7; Figure 8a represents a partial rear perspective view of the dispensing porthole, illustrating its articulation to the refrigerator front door; Figure 9 represents an exploded perspective view of the extracting lever and of the element to which it is articulated; and

Figure 10 represents a partially sectioned front upper perspective view of the beverage can storage chute. Detailed Description of the Invention As illustrated and previously mentioned, the present dispenser device D is applied to a refrigerator 10 of the stand-alone type or a combination refrigerator- freezer and whose front door 11 is provided with a dispensing opening 12 in which a respective part of the present dispenser device D is mounted, as it is simplifiedly illustrated in figure 1 of the enclosed drawings .

As illustrated in figures Ia and 2, the dispenser device D comprises a chute 20 to be provided in the interior of the refrigerator 10 and which is configured to receive and lodge a plurality of

beverage cans 30 disposed side by side, to be sequentially discharged by the user actuating the dispenser device D.

In the illustrated construction, the chute 20 is mounted in the interior of the refrigerator 10 and comprises at least one support track 21 disposed according to a direction transversal to the plane of the front door 11 and having a front end 21a, in which is defined an outlet opening 22 of the chute 20, each support track 21 lodging a plurality of beverage cans 30. The chute 20 can be constructed in different manners and in different materials, being affixed on a horizontal inner wall 13 of the refrigerator 10 or against a lateral inner wall of the latter, as long as its outlet opening 22 is turned to the dispensing opening 12 provided in the front door 11 of the refrigerator 10.

As illustrated in figures 2 and 10, the chute 20 can be constructed in injected plastic material, formed in two halves to be afterwards connected and affixed one to the other so as to define two support tracks 21 disposed one over the other and interconnected by one of the ends, in a serpentine-shaped stack, the upper support track 21 presenting an inlet end 21b that is open and configured to permit feeding the beverage cans 30 directly over said upper support track 21. The front end 21a of the lowermost support track 21 of the chute 20, in which is defined an outlet opening 22, is provided with a lower stop 23 against which is laterally seated and retained the first beverage can

30 lodged in the chute 20. As best illustrated in figure 10, the front end 21a of the lower support track 21 of the chute 20 presents a median slot 24 extending also along the lower stop 23, splitting it in two side portions spaced from each other, said

median slot 24 extending to the interior of the support track 21 by a distance sufficient to permit the first beverage can 30, lodged in the chute 20, to be seated on the support track 21 on opposite sides of said median slot 24, as illustrated in figure 2. The function of the median slot 24 will be described ahead.

In order that the beverage cans 30 can be automatically displaced in the interior of the chute 20 and towards the outlet opening 22 of the latter, as the cans are sequentially and progressively removed from the interior of the refrigerator 10, the support tracks 21 of the chute 20 are slightly inclined so that the beverage cans 30 are gravitationally forced towards the lower stop 23 disposed close to the outlet opening 22 of the chute 20. Hence, whenever there is the load of at least one beverage can 30 in the interior of the chute 20, there will be one beverage can 30 laterally seated against the lower stop 23, transversally to the median slot 24.

As illustrated in figure 2, the chute 20 is preferably mounted in the interior of the refrigerator 10, suspended under a horizontal inner wall 13 of the refrigerator 10, which wall can be defined by the upper wall of the respective refrigerator cabinet. Said wall, which can also be defined by one of the inner shelves or other inner dividing elements of the refrigerator, is usually provided with suspension means 14 which can take the form of pins 14a pending from said horizontal inner wall 13 of the refrigerator

10. The chute 20 presents an upper wall portion 25 in which are provided engaging means 26 to be coupled to respective suspension means 14 provided under the horizontal inner wall 13 of the refrigerator 10. In the illustrated constructive example, the engaging

means 26 take the form of oblong orifices 26a made in said upper wall portion 25 of the chute 20, being dimensioned to be removably fitted in respective suspension means 14. The dispenser device D further comprises a dispensing porthole 40 which carries, externally and usually in a single piece, a cradle 50 having a cylindrical concave shape and dimensioned to receive and lodge a beverage can 30 released from the chute 20. The dispensing porthole 40 is inferiorly and horizontally articulated to the front door 11, inside the refrigerator 10, so that it can be manually and angularly displaced between a closed position, in which it blocks the dispensing opening 12, positioning the cradle 50 externally to the latter and manually accessible to the user, and an open position, in which it projects inclinably upwardly and inwardly of the refrigerator 10, so as to make the dispensing opening 12 be blocked by the cradle 50. The dispensing porthole 40 can present different constructions and different contours. However, it should be understood that the dispensing porthole 40 must present a contour compatible with that of the dispensing opening 12 and also according to the need of releasing the beverage cans 30 outwardly from the refrigerator 10, through the front door 11 of the latter. Another aspect to be observed in the construction of the dispensing porthole 40 concerns its capacity to guarantee an adequate thermal insulation between the interior and the exterior of the refrigerator 10.

In the construction illustrated in the enclosed drawings, the dispensing porthole 40 comprises, generally in injected plastic material, an outer casing 41 in the form of a trunk-pyramidal tray of

rectangular contour and whose closed smaller base externally incorporates a front projection configured to superiorly define the cradle 50 and inferiorly define a pending flange 51 which defines an element to be manually held by the user when he desires to move the dispensing porthole 40 to extract a beverage can 30 from the interior of the chute 20. The dispensing porthole 40 further comprises an inner casing 42 constructed to rearly close the outer casing 41 and defining a cam surface 43 whose function will be described ahead. A thermal insulating filler 44 is internally disposed in between the two casings 41, 42 and a gasket 45, preferably constructed in elastomeric material, is mounted around the outer casing 41, to be seated against a trunk-pyramidal seat 16 provided in the front door 11 of the refrigerator 10, around the dispensing opening 12, when the dispensing porthole 40 is displaced to the closed condition. In the illustrated construction, the outer casing 41 inferiorly incorporates two pairs of ears 46 pending downwardly and provided with respective holes 46a axially aligned to each other. Each pair of ears 46 journals a pin 47 around which is mounted a return spring 48, having an end cooperating with the front door 11 and the other end cooperating with the dispensing porthole 40, between the respective pair of ears 46, to constantly force the dispensing porthole 40 to a closed position, guaranteeing the closing of the dispensing opening 12 when the user ceases to manually operate the pending flange 51 of the dispensing porthole 40.

Each pin 47 projects outwardly from the respective pair of ears 46, to be journaled in a hole 11a designed in the front door 11 of the refrigerator 10, close to a respective side of the dispensing opening

12, to define a lower horizontal articulation of the dispensing porthole 40 in the front door 11 of the refrigerator 10, as illustrated in figures 8 and 8a. The present dispenser device D further comprises an extracting lever 60 which is medianly and horizontally articulated to the front door 11, internally to the refrigerator 10, so as to be angularly displaced, upon the displacement of the dispensing porthole 40 to an open position, from a non-operative position to an operative position, in which it displaces the first beverage can 30 of the chute 20, releasing said can through the outlet opening 22 of the chute 20 and gravitationally conducting the can to the cradle 50, rolling the can over the dispensing porthole 40. In the illustrated construction, the front door 11 of the refrigerator 10 carries, in its inside, a protective cover 70 circumferencially and rearly surrounding the dispensing opening 12 and the dispensing porthole 40, said protective cover 70 being provided with a rear window 71, in whose lower region is medianly articulated the extracting lever 60.

In the illustrated construction, the extracting lever 60, preferably formed in a single piece molded in plastic material, comprises: an extracting portion 61 defined on a side of a median articulation region and disposed below the front end 21a of the support track 21 of the chute 20, and dimensioned to angularly oscillate in a vertical plane from a non-operative position below said chute 20 to an operative position displaced upwardly through the median slot 24 of the chute 20, elevating the first beverage can 30 from its position seated against the lower stop 23, so as to release said beverage can 30 from the stop, so that said can may roll towards the dispensing opening 12 of the front door 11 of the refrigerator 10.

The extracting lever 60 further comprises a conducting portion 62 defining an extension of the extracting portion 61 and also a cam follower portion 63 projecting transversally, forward of the extracting lever 60 in its median articulation region, said cam follower portion 63 being dimensioned and configured to be angularly displaced by the cam surface 43 of the dispensing porthole 40, when the latter is conducted to the open position, so as to displace, upwardly, the extracting portion 61 and, therewith, the first beverage can 30 of the chute 20 and, downwardly, the conducting portion 62 of the extracting lever 60, making said first beverage can 30 gravitationally roll down over the extracting lever 60 and over the dispensing porthole 40, until seating on the cradle 50, as illustrated in figures 2-6.

Figure 9 illustrates a perspective view of the protective cover 70 and of its rear window 71 in which the extracting lever 60 is articulated. The provision of the protective cover 70 creates a region which is maintained insulated from the inner ambient of the refrigerator while the extracting lever 60 remains in its non-operative position, the communication between the inner ambient of the refrigerator 10 and the outer ambient, through the dispensing opening 12, being allowed only in the moment in which the extracting lever 60 is in its operative position with the dispensing porthole 40 in its open position, during the short space of time in which the first beverage can 30 of the chute 20 is rolling from the outlet opening 22 of the latter towards the cradle 50. Even so, the protective cover 70 creates an intermediary chamber, preventing great loss of thermal energy during the instants in which the dispensing porthole 40 and the extracting lever 60 are cooperating with

each other to allow a beverage can 30 to be released. The extracting lever 60 is preferably constructed so as to incorporate, on both sides of its median articulation portion, two shaft portions 65 to be journaled in a pair of side cradles 73 incorporated in the lower region of the rear window 71 of the protective cover 70. Over the two shaft portions 65 are mounted small helical springs 74 having an end cooperating with the extracting lever 60 and the opposite end cooperating with the protective cover 70, so as to constantly force the extracting lever 60 to its non-operative position illustrated in figures 2 and 6. While only one preferred embodiment for the present invention has been described and illustrated herein, it should be understood that alterations can be made in the form and arrangement of the elements, without departing from the constructive concept defined in the claims that accompany the present specification.