JPH077470B2 - Cup-type beverage vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cup-type beverage vending machine for selling various beverages such as soft drinks and coffee.

[Prior Art]

The above-mentioned cup-type beverage vending machine is well known, and when a coin is inserted, a sales command is output from the control unit. Based on this sales command, a beverage cup is transported from the cup mechanism to the bend stage, and then the beverage is supplied to the cup through the beverage line inside the machine.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In conventional vending machines, the cup mechanism, beverage tank, ingredient box, etc. are each equipped with a sold-out detection mechanism, and when these sold-out detection mechanisms detect that a drink is sold out, they output a signal to stop sales and prevent further coin acceptance. However, the current situation is that no measures are in place to deal with abnormal situations such as when a machine malfunctions or some other problem prevents normal sales during a vending operation. As a result, if a coin inserted by a customer is accepted and then a problem occurs within the machine that prevents the drink from being sold normally, the coin will not be returned.

For this reason, in the past, if a user was unable to receive a product due to a sales problem caused by a malfunction within the machine despite inserting a coin correctly, the user would contact the vending machine's administrator to notify them and receive a refund. However, especially when the vending machine is installed in an unmanned location or when a sales problem occurs late at night, the user is left to suffer damages unilaterally because it is impossible to contact the administrator.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a cup-type beverage vending machine that detects abnormal sales caused by the occurrence of the above-mentioned sales troubles and takes appropriate measures, such as returning inserted coins to the user.

[Means for solving the problem]

To achieve this objective, the present invention comprises a cup sensor that detects whether a cup is being transported to the bend stage, and a beverage sensor that is fixedly installed at the bottom of the bend stage and on which a cup transported from the cup supply mechanism is placed, and that detects whether a beverage is being supplied to the cup, and beverage is supplied with the cup fixedly placed on the beverage sensor.

[Effect]

By using the above means, this invention determines whether the cup is transported to the bend stage and the beverage is supplied normally, and if a sales problem occurs, it immediately sends a signal to the coin mechanism to return the inserted coin and stop further sales, or other appropriate action can be taken.

[Example]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. In Figs. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a bend stage installed inside the machine facing the product outlet. A cup dispenser 3 is installed connecting this bend stage 1 and a cup mechanism 2. Furthermore, a beverage mechanism pipe 5 extending from a beverage line 4 opens above the bend stage. A product outlet door 6 is installed in front of the bend stage 1 at the product outlet of the cabinet. This configuration is similar to that of a conventional vending machine. When a vending command is output from a control unit (not shown) upon insertion of a coin, this command ejects a single cup 7 from the cup mechanism 2 and lands it in a predetermined position on the bend stage. The selected type of beverage is then dispensed into the cup 7 from the beverage line 4 via the pipe 5.

In contrast to this configuration, the present invention provides a bending stage 1
An abnormal vending detection device has been installed in the bend stage 1, which combines a cup sensor designated by the reference numeral 8 and a beverage sensor designated by the reference numeral 9. The inner cup sensor 8 is an optical detection sensor consisting of a pair of a light-emitting element 8a and a light-receiving element 8b arranged on either side of the landing position of the cup 7, and detects whether the cup 7 has been carried out onto the bend stage at the time of vending, and outputs a signal to the control unit, which will be described later. The other beverage sensor 9 is a pressure sensor installed on the bottom of the bend stage 1 that detects the weight of the cup and the beverage poured into it, and detects whether the specified amount of beverage has been supplied to the cup at the time of vending, and outputs a signal to the control unit, which will be described later.

Next, based on the block diagram of the control system of the vending machine including the abnormal vending detection device shown in Figure 3, normal vending operation,
First, if there is no malfunction in the machine, when a coin is inserted into the coin mechanism, the coin is accepted and
In response to a signal from the coin mechanism, the control unit displays the product selection button as available for sale. When the customer presses the desired product selection button, that signal triggers a delivery signal to the cup mechanism and beverage line, which then initiates a series of vending operations, including cup delivery and beverage supply. Meanwhile, if a vending problem occurs during the vending process, such as a failure of the cup mechanism, improper cup deformation during filling, or a cup with a defective shape, resulting in the cup not being properly delivered to the bend stage despite a delivery command being sent to the cup mechanism, or if a beverage is not properly delivered to the cup due to a problem with the beverage line, this abnormal vending condition is detected by the cup sensor 8 and beverage sensor 9, which then transmit an abnormality detection signal to the control unit. This causes the control unit to issue a signal to the coin mechanism to return the coins inserted, pay out the full amount, and display a message indicating that sales have been suspended, thereby halting further sales. This prevents the customer from suffering monetary losses and prevents future vending problems.

Furthermore, if someone inserts their hand into the bend stage from the outside and removes a cup while a sale is being made normally, the cup sensor and beverage sensor may mistakenly recognize this as an abnormality and output an abnormality signal, even though the sale is not abnormal.
As a measure to prevent such tampering, in the illustrated embodiment, a door lock mechanism 10 is provided for the product removal door 6 as shown in FIG. 2, which locks the door 6 in the closed position during sales operations and sales standby, except at the time when sales operations are completed.
is a locking bar operated by an electromagnetic solenoid, for example, that locks and restrains the door 6 in the closed position. A detection switch 11 that detects the open/closed state of the door is installed opposite the door 6, and upon receiving a detection signal from this switch, a lock command is sent from the control unit to the solenoid.

[Effects of the Invention]

As described above, according to this invention, an abnormal sales detection device is installed on the bend stage facing the product outlet, which combines a cup sensor that detects whether a cup is being carried out and a beverage sensor that detects whether a beverage is being supplied to a cup.
When a vending problem occurs in which a vending machine does not operate normally due to a malfunction within the machine even though a coin has been inserted properly, and the user is unable to receive the product, this abnormal vending can be detected, and appropriate measures can be taken based on this abnormal vending detection signal, such as returning the inserted coin and halting future vending. By taking such measures, a highly reliable vending machine can be provided, which also eliminates financial disputes with users.

[Brief explanation of the drawings]

Fig. 1 to Fig. 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the bend stage portion, Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the control system. 1... bend stage, 2... cup mechanism, 4... beverage line, 6... product removal door, 7... cup, 8... cup sensor, 9... beverage sensor, 10... door lock mechanism.

Claims (2)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A cup-type beverage vending machine that sells beverages by supplying them through a beverage line to cups transported from a cup supply mechanism to a bend stage, comprising: a cup sensor that detects whether a cup has been transported to the bend stage; and a beverage sensor that is fixedly installed at the bottom of the bend stage and on which a cup transported from the cup supply mechanism is placed, and that detects whether a beverage has been supplied to the cup, and the beverage is supplied while the cup is fixedly placed on the beverage sensor. [Claim 2] A cup-type beverage vending machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that the product removal door provided at the product removal outlet of the bend stage is equipped with a door lock mechanism that locks the product removal door in a closed position except when the vending operation is completed.