JPH0821125B2 - Cup type vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Use In the present invention, a beverage injecting unit is provided at an appropriate place in the machine separately from the selling unit, and a cup after injecting the beverage is moved and delivered to the selling unit. The present invention relates to a cup type vending machine, and more particularly, to a cup type vending machine having a configuration in which an opening / closing timing of an automatic opening / closing type selling door provided in a sales department is freely set.

(B) Conventional technology Conventionally, as a cup type vending machine of this type, the cup falls into a selling port provided at a relatively low position on the front surface of the main body, as in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-16278. Some drinks are poured into the cup from a drink supply nozzle facing the sales opening.

Also, as in JP-A-62-278695, the beverage is not supplied through this selling port, but the beverage, sugar, etc. are sequentially supplied while the cup is moving inside the machine, and the agitation is performed, and the beverage is already mixed in the selling port. A cup-type vending machine, which is a vending system for delivering cup beverages, has also been proposed.

(C) Problem to be Solved by the Invention In the latter device (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-278695), since there is no beverage pouring out at the sales outlet, the place is not contaminated with beverage or the like, which is hygienic.

However, both devices are equipped with an extraction door that can be manually opened by the customer when the cup is taken out, which is inconvenient.
In addition, since the position of the sales outlet is also low, it is difficult for the customer to take out because the customer needs to lower his posture.

In view of the above points, the present invention is a system that raises a beverage-injected cup and carries it out to a sales department provided at a high position to facilitate the taking out of the cup, and to open the selling door and raise the cup. It is intended to provide a cup-type vending machine in which the timings of and can be set freely according to the environmental conditions of the installation destination of the vending machine.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a beverage injecting section is provided at an appropriate place in the machine separately from a sales section, and a cup after injecting the beverage is horizontally transferred to a horizontal transfer path. In a cup-type vending machine that moves from a beverage injecting section to a selling section through a cup transfer path consisting of a channel and sends out the cup, a cup gripping mechanism holds a cup sent out from a cup supply device provided inside the machine. A cup back-and-forth moving device that performs beverage injection and moves substantially horizontally to the position of the ascending transfer path after beverage injection,
A cup lifting device that receives and moves up the beverage cup from the beverage injecting unit and moves it to the sales unit located at the upper position on the front of the main body, and this rising cup through the cup carry-out port above the cup lifting transfer path. A sales door that opens and closes the carry-out port so that it can be sent to the sales department, a sales-door drive device that drives the opening and closing of the sales door, and a beverage-filled cup is horizontal at a position directly below the carry-out port opened by the sales door. First sales door drive control means for driving and controlling the sales door drive device so as to finish opening the sales door before it is moved; and the sales door while the beverage-filled cup moves up the vertical transfer path. Second sales door drive control means for driving and controlling the sales door drive device so that the sales door is opened, and selection means for selecting which one of the first and second sales door drive control means to use. Prepared Than it is.

(E) Action After the beverage injection is completed, it is possible to set the opening operation of the selling door to start at an arbitrary transfer position on the way of the cup transfer path where the drink-containing cup is transferred.

Since the time required to open the sales door is constant, if the vending machine is installed in a clean environment, for example, in a guest room in the office, the operation such that the sales door opens just before the cup with a drink comes out When the control is set by the selection means, the second
With the sales door drive control means, it is possible to carry out the beverage-filled cup as soon as the sales door is opened.

However, in an environment where the environment is prone to dust and dirt,
By setting the timing for opening the sales door before the cup with a drink is located under the cup ascending path, the opening of the sales door is controlled based on the first sales door drive control means selected by the selection means. , It becomes possible to prevent dust from entering the cup, and it becomes a hygienic sale.

(F) Example An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The cup-type vending machine according to the present invention, in the sales department, rather than injecting the beverage into the released cup, the beverage injecting part is disposed separately from the sales department at appropriate places in the machine, The sales department has a structure in which drink-filled cups are carried out.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a cup-type vending machine according to the present invention. The sales section 1 is of a counter table type which is widely opened laterally, which is greatly different from the conventional rectangular-type sales outlet. I am trying. Then, while a part of the counter table portion 2 is raised in a dome shape and an opening hole for taking out the product is provided therein, the counter table portion 2 approaches the bottom of the dome portion and has a dome shape in the same manner. It is rotatably provided, and the sales door 3 is formed with a hole that matches the opening hole when it is opened. Therefore, the opening hole is normally closed by the sales door 3, and the outlet for the beverage-containing cup is formed by matching the holes. The sales door 3 is located above the cup ascending path through which the beverage-containing cup ascends, and has the function of preventing dust from entering the warehouse during standby and tampering with it.

Further, the sales section 1 is provided at a height position (for example, 900 mm) which is higher than the conventional height position. Specifically, it is formed immediately below the panel section 4A to which the selection button 4 is attached,
It is a dented sales section that is recessed inward, and has a horizontal dimension with a height dimension that does not hinder the removal of the cup 6. Then, the cup already filled with the beverage comes out to the sales section 1, and therefore the supply section to which the cup, the beverage, the ice, etc. are delivered is separated from the sales section 1 in the cabin. It is configured so as to be dispersed in. Reference numeral 4 is a product selection button.

2 and 4 are perspective views showing the external structure of the selling mechanism in the main body for performing the above-mentioned selling operation. FIG. 2 shows the drink infusion of the cup and the movement of the cup after the infusion to the cup lifting device. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a situation in which the beverage-filled cup is raised by the cup raising device, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a situation in which the beverage-filled cup is approaching the sales department. .

In each drawing, reference numeral 5 denotes a cup gripping device having openable cup gripping pieces 7A, 7B for gripping the cup 6 sent from the cup supply device in response to a sales instruction. The cup gripping device 5 is a cabinet of a vending machine. The slider 9 is slidably mounted on the rail 8 arranged substantially horizontally inside the
It can be slid forward and backward. A cup front-back transfer device for sliding the cup gripping device 5
As 50, a rack gear mechanism can be used.
For example, a configuration may be considered in which a rack is formed in the lateral direction on the back side of the rail 8 and a pinion that meshes with the rack and a drive motor for the pinion are provided on the slider 9 side.

The opening degree of the cup gripping pieces 7A and 7B waiting for the cup to be received can be adjusted according to the size of the cup used.

As a mechanism for opening / closing the cup gripping pieces 7A, 7B, an appropriate mechanism such as opening / closing with a rotationally driven cam can be adopted.

By the way, a beverage supply device, an ice maker, etc. (none of which are shown) are provided above the position shown in FIG. Beverage dispensing nozzles from them 10
And the ice discharge hose 11 faces the cup 6. The beverage selected by the customer is then compounded and dispensed through the beverage dispensing nozzle 10.

At this time, the beverage supply device is a coffee beverage prepared by diluting syrup with carbonated water to prepare a carbonated beverage, or dissolving powdered raw materials such as coffee in hot water and adding sugar and milk as needed. To prepare. Similarly, the ice making machine sends ice through the ice discharging hose 11 into the cup held by the cup gripping device 5 when the customer performs a product selection operation.

When beverage and ice are supplied to the cup, the cup gripping device 5
Is slid in the direction of arrow A by the cup front-rear transfer device 50, reaches the position shown in FIG. 3, and stops at a predetermined position. Reference numeral 12 is an up / down moving device for moving the cup that has come to the predetermined position by moving it up.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cup lifting device 12 is vertically arranged between a pair of pulleys 13, 13 pivotally supported by an endless belt 14 or an endless chain 20, 20 for driving a drive motor 15 Thus, the tray member attached to the endless belt 14 or the endless chain, that is, the coaster 18 is configured to be slidable up and down along the guide rod 19 in the forward and reverse directions. Then, the coaster 18 is normally waiting at a position slightly below the bottom surface of the cup 6 moving in the A direction, and when the cup 6 comes, it slightly rises to support the cup bottom surface,
Put it on it.

After that, the cup gripping pieces 7A and 7B are opened, and the cup gripping pieces 7A and 7B are opened.
The changeover from A, 7B to Coaster 18 is done. Next, after the cup gripping pieces 7A, 7B are further opened so as not to hinder the rise of the cup 6, the coaster 18 is raised again by the forward rotation of the cup raising device 12 to prevent the cup from falling. The cup guide opening portion 21 having a shape slightly larger than the diameter is inserted into the cup guide opening portion 21 and stopped at a slightly extended position.

FIG. 4 shows the situation in which the cup 6 has come out on the counter table 2 of the sales department 1. As can be understood from the drawing, the cup 6 containing the beverage is formed by opening the sales door 3. It appears in the sales department 1 and is carried out as if it were coming out from under the carry-out port 22. At this time, of course, sales door 3
Opens to form an outlet 22 through which the cup exits.

As described above, a series of gripping the released cup → injecting the beverage into the cup → moving to the cup raising device after the beverage injection → transferring the cup to the cup raising device → raising the cup → carrying out to the sales department Then, the cup beverage is provided to the customer.

The overall flow of this selling operation is more fully understood in FIG. That is, when the cup dropper 23 operates according to the sales instruction, the cup passes through the cup chute 24,
It is gripped by the cup gripping pieces 7A, 7B. After gripping the cup, beverage is injected from the beverage pouring nozzle 10 and the like, and the entire cup gripping device 5 is laterally moved by the cup front-rear transfer device 50, and is moved as Cup1 → Cup2 → Cup3. At the position of Cup3, the cup is moved to the cup raising device, and the cup raising device 12 rises to the position of Cup4 by the cup raising device 12. On the other hand, in the sales door 3, when the beverage injection is completed, it starts to open and forms the carry-out port 22. Thus, the exit
The cup 6 is carried out from 22 to the sales department 1.

In FIG. 5, S is a cup clogging detection sensor arranged immediately above the cup gripping device 5. When the falling cup 6 is not properly gripped by the cup gripping pieces 7A and 7B and is tilted, The light rays are continuously blocked by this cup to detect clogging of the cup, and the cup gripping pieces 7A and 7B are temporarily opened and closed to prompt the cup 6 to drop. In addition, a cup waste port 31 and a drain bucket 32 are arranged below the position of Cup2 to eliminate unsold cups that have stagnated in the middle due to power failure during cup transfer by the next sale. In order to keep it, no matter where the cup is in the transfer route, it is forcibly moved to the position of Cup 2 after the power failure is restored, and the cup is discarded together with this so that the cup gripping pieces 7A, 7B are opened and discarded. I have to.

Further, S ₁₂ is a cup presence / absence detection sensor for detecting whether or not the cup 6 is taken out by the customer. When the cup 6 is taken out, the cup raising device 12 is re-operated and the coaster portion 18 is slightly lowered ( Stand by at the position where sensor S ₇ detects.

Here, it is convenient that the opening operation of the sales door 3 and the timing when the cup 6 is raised can be variably set as follows.

For example, when the cup 6 is moved to the lower side of the door (the position of Cup3) after the sales door 3 is completely opened, the sales door 3
Even if the above dust drops when the door is opened, it does not fall into the cup 6 because it has already dropped.

Therefore, if the cup is moved from the beverage injecting unit,
Start opening the sales door 3 in less time, and at least Cu
Complete the release before reaching the p3 position.

In this case, the customer may be a little worried because it takes a long time from the opening of the sales door 3 until the cup 6 is lifted for sale. This method is preferable for the installation site where it is difficult to manage such as putting dust in.

On the other hand, if the timing is set so that the sales door 3 opens and the cup is raised immediately, the customer can set the sales door 3
The feeling of anxiety after the opening is eliminated. In this case, it is suitable for installation in a clean room or the like where environmental conditions are good and there is no need to worry about dust intrusion.

In this way, depending on the location (location) of the vending machine, it is possible to set the timing freely depending on the location used by fixed customers, general location, location that is easy to manage, etc. To do so.

Therefore, the operation time for opening the sales door 3 is set by the timer setting. For this, the door opening operation start time is set so that the door opening operation starts when an arbitrary time elapses from the time when the cup movement starts to move from the standby.
It is also possible to set the timer after the cup moves. In the cup transfer route, a reference position is provided, a position detection sensor is arranged there, and the cup is sold after a set time set at an arbitrary time from the time when the cup reaches the reference position and the position detection sensor detects it. The door 3 is opened.

The other method is the timing setting, which sets the door opening operation at the cup moving position.

That is, with this timing setting, the opening operation is performed when the cup movement starts. Open the cup when it reaches the middle position. The opening operation is performed at an intermediate position of the cup raising device. And so on.

In this way, the cup moving position is detected and the door opening operation is performed.

In order to determine the opening operation timing of the sales door 3 as described above, the sales door 3 is provided with the door opening / closing detection switch S ₁₁ (sensor). The cup front-rear transfer device 50 is provided with position detection sensors S ₁ , S ₂ , and S ₃ at standby, intermediate, and front stop positions, respectively. The cup lifting device 12 is provided with position detection sensors S ₄ , S ₅ , S ₆ , S ₇ at respective stop positions of standby, lower, intermediate and sales.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a control circuit which enables both types of setting (timer setting, timing setting) by using these sensors and which can be operated by selecting one of the setting methods by the setting means.

In the figure, when there is a beverage injection end signal, the variable timer T is activated, an output signal is output after an arbitrary set time, and the sales door drive circuit 3D is activated. Therefore, the door opening operation time can be set by the variable timer T.

On the other hand, this sales door drive circuit 3D has a front position detection sensor.
S ₁ , intermediate position detection sensor S ₂ , rear (standby) position detection sensor
S _3, the detection signal from the cup support (intermediate) position sensor S ₅ is entered. Then, it is determined in advance which of the sensors S _{1 to} S ₅ the detection signal is input to the sales door drive circuit (3D) as an operation signal. That is, the position sensors S ₁ , S ₂ ,
If the detection signal from any of S ₃ is input, the sales door drive circuit (3D) will open the sales door during horizontal transportation before the beverage cup is directly below the ascending transfer path. When the first control is performed and the detection signal from the position sensor S ₅ is input, the second cup that opens the sales door while the drinking cup is being transferred through the ascending transfer path.
The setting is made to enable the control of. After thus determined, sold door driving circuit 3D via signals only from the sensor S ₁ to S ₅ in which the cup moves is selected at a timing that comes to each of the positions the door opening motion starts started.
Further, the front / rear transfer device drive circuit 50D receives a detection signal indicating that the cup has not come to the front position as the front position detection sensor S ₁
More output, and when the signal when the drink infusion end signal is generated, is connected through the logic circuit 60 which becomes the output state. Therefore, after the drink is filled, the movement of the cup is controlled until it reaches the front position. In addition, the front position detection sensor
The detection output of S ₁ is also input to the cup lifting device drive circuit 12D, and when the cup comes to the front position, the cup lifting device 12 operates and the coaster portion 18 is slightly lifted to the cup supporting position (intermediate). Let

Thus, by either inputting the detection signal at which position in the cup transport sales door driving circuit (3D), to select the desired position sensor _{S 1, S 2, S 3} , S 5, according to the selected sensor It is possible to set the timing at which the opening operation time of the sales door 3 can be freely set at the time when the detection output is obtained, that is, the cup moving position. The whole setting means of this timing system is indicated by a one-dot chain line frame A. The designating means B designates whether to select the variable timer T which is the setting means of the timer system or the setting means A of the timing system.

Further, in FIG. 7, the setting is made by the timer method. However, when the cup is moving on the cup transfer route and the reference door on the route is reached, the sales door is opened after the time set by the variable timer. The control block diagram which makes it open is shown.

The arbitrary reference position is a position where the sensors S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ , S ₅ of the front position, the intermediate position, the rear position, and the cup supporting position are located. Then, the detection signals from the respective sensors S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ , S _{5 which} are the input section (shown by the chain line frame E) to the variable timer T are contact points W, X selectively closed by the selection means C. , Y, Z
To enter via. Therefore, the variable timer T operates based on the detection signal from the selected sensor. In other words, when the cup reaches the defined reference position, the variable timer T is activated and the sales door drive circuit 3D is activated after the set time. That is, also in this case, when the sales door drive circuit (3D) is driven by the signals from the position sensors S ₁ , S ₂ , and S ₃ , during the horizontal conveyance before the beverage cup comes directly under the ascending transfer path. When the sales door drive circuit (3D) is driven by the signal from the position sensor S ₅ when the first control is performed so that the sales door is fully opened, when the beverage-filled cup is moving up the transfer path. A second control is performed to open the sales door.

(G) Effect of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the selling door is opened, and the timing at which the cup beverage is sold can be freely set. If you are worried about such things as opening the sales door early and opening the cup beverage below the door, it will be completely opened and dust on the door will not enter the cup.
The sales door opens and the price rises immediately. It is possible to eliminate the anxiety after the sales door opens to customers, and to achieve satisfactory use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall external perspective view of a cup-type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external configuration diagram of the vending machine showing a process of injecting a beverage into a cup and moving the cup after the injection. Fig. 3 is an external view of the sales mechanism showing the situation immediately after the transfer to the cup up-and-down device, and Fig. 4 is an external view of the sales mechanism showing the situation where the cup appears from below in the sales department, Fig. 5 FIG. 6 is a side view schematically showing the structure of a main part of the sales mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control circuit in which the timing for starting the opening operation of the sales door of the present invention can be set by a timer system or a timing system. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control circuit in the case of performing control so as to open the sales door after an arbitrary time has elapsed after reaching a predetermined reference position after moving the cup. 1 …… sales department, 3 …… sales door, 5 …… cup holding device,
6 ...... cup, 7A, 7B ...... cup gripping piece, 10 ...... beverage delivery nozzle, 12 ...... cup Elevators, 50 ...... cup before and after the transfer device, T ...... variable timer circuit, S _1, S _2, S ₃ …… Standby,
Intermediate and front position detection sensor, S ₅ ... Intermediate position detection sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A beverage injecting unit is provided at an appropriate place in the machine separately from the selling unit, and the cup in which the beverage has been infused is transferred from the beverage injecting unit to the selling unit via a cup transfer path including a horizontal transfer path and an ascending transfer path. In a cup-type vending machine that moves to and delivers to a cup, the cup delivered from a cup supply device provided inside the machine is held by a cup gripping mechanism, and beverage is injected,
After the beverage is poured, the cup front-rear moving device for horizontally moving to the position of the ascending transfer path, and receiving the beverage-containing cup moving from the beverage injecting part, elevating it, to the sales department provided at the upper position on the front surface of the main body. A cup lifting device for moving, a selling door for opening and closing the carry-out port so that the lifting cup can be delivered to the selling unit through a cup carrying-out port above the cup rising and transporting path, and a sale for opening and closing the selling door. A first drive for driving and controlling the selling door driving device so that the opening of the selling door is ended before the beverage-containing cup is horizontally moved to a position directly below the outlet opening opened by the selling door. A door drive control means, a second sales door drive control means for driving and controlling the sales door drive device so that the sales door is opened while the beverage-filled cup moves upward in the vertical transfer path; Cup type automatic vending machine characterized by comprising a selection means for selecting use either sell the door drive control means 2.