US 12,227,405 B2
Fluid material dispensing apparatus for automatically discarding unqualified materials
Wu-Chou Kuo, San Francisco, CA (US); Yu-Min Lee, Taipei (TW); and Yu Wei Chen, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to BOTRISTA, INC., Dover, DE (US)
Filed by Botrista, Inc., Dover, DE (US)
Filed on Jul. 3, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/763,795.
Application 18/375,075 is a division of application No. 17/467,960, filed on Sep. 7, 2021, granted, now 11,814,280, issued on Nov. 14, 2023.
Application 18/763,795 is a continuation in part of application No. 18/375,075, filed on Sep. 29, 2023, granted, now 12,077,423.
Application 17/467,960 is a continuation in part of application No. 17/218,314, filed on Mar. 31, 2021, granted, now 11,597,642, issued on Mar. 7, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/636,426, filed on Apr. 19, 2024.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/143,217, filed on Jan. 29, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/110,621, filed on Nov. 6, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2024/0351851 A1, Oct. 24, 2024
Int. Cl. B67D 1/07 (2006.01); B67D 1/12 (2006.01)
CPC B67D 1/07 (2013.01) [B67D 1/1277 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A material dispensing device (400), comprising:
a target nozzle (150), arranged to operably dispense a target material to a target container (190);
a pump (110), coupled between an outlet connector (182) of a material container (180) and the target nozzle (150), and arranged to operably extract the target material from the material container (180) and to operably push the target material to flow toward the target nozzle (150);
a material drainage port (404);
a flow direction switch device (460), comprising:
an input terminal, arranged to operably receive the target material;
a first output terminal, coupled with the target nozzle (150); and
a second output terminal, coupled with the material drainage port (404);
a control circuit (480), coupled with the pump (110) and the flow direction switch device (460), and arranged to operably control the pump (110) and the flow direction switch device (460); and
one or more temperature sensors (470), coupled with the control circuit (480), and arranged to operably sense and report the temperature of the target material inside the material dispensing device (400) to the control circuit (480);
wherein when the material dispensing device (400) needs to output the target material to the target container (190), the control circuit (480) evaluates quality of the target material inside the material dispensing device (400) based on sensing results of the one or more temperature sensors (470);
wherein if a temperature of the target material inside the material dispensing device (400) does not reach a predetermined temperature, the control circuit (480) determines that quality of a portion or all of the target material inside the material dispensing device (400) is unacceptable, and deems a portion or all of the target material currently inside the material dispensing device (400) as unqualified material, and then the control circuit (480) controls the flow direction switch device (460) to block the first output terminal and to guide the unqualified material to flow toward the material drainage port (404) through the second output terminal, so as to prevent the target nozzle (150) from dispensing the unqualified material into the target container (190), and the control circuit (480) also controls the pump (110) to operate, so that newly extracted target material is transported from the outlet connector (182) toward the flow direction switch device (460);
wherein with continuous operation of the pump (110), the unqualified material inside the material dispensing device (400) can be pushed to flow forward and gradually discharged to outside through the flow direction switch device (460) and the material drainage port (404), while the newly extracted target material enters and gradually fills a material transmission channel between the outlet connector (182) and the flow direction switch device (460);
afterwards, when the temperature of the target material reaches the predetermined temperature, the control circuit (480) determines that the quality of the target material currently inside the material dispensing device (400) is acceptable, and then the control circuit (480) controls the flow direction switch device (460) to guide the target material to flow toward the target nozzle (150) through the first output terminal, so that the target nozzle (150) dispenses the target material having acceptable quality into the target container (190).