CN105989669B - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents
Automatic vending machine Download PDFInfo
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- CN105989669B CN105989669B CN201510100295.4A CN201510100295A CN105989669B CN 105989669 B CN105989669 B CN 105989669B CN 201510100295 A CN201510100295 A CN 201510100295A CN 105989669 B CN105989669 B CN 105989669B
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Abstract
The invention provides a vending machine capable of avoiding loss of vending opportunity as much as possible. The vending machine is provided with a hot water tank (14) having a heater (52) for heating stored hot water, and can prepare and vend a beverage by using the hot water supplied from the hot water tank (14), and the vending machine is provided with a control device (40) for controlling the receiving state of the deposit operation and the beverage selection operation to be maintained when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank (14) is either higher or lower than a vendable temperature. When the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received, the control device starts the selling operation when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is equal to or higher than the selling temperature, and when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is lower than the selling temperature, the control device performs the hot water supplying operation from the hot water tank after the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is equal to or higher than the selling temperature by the heater (52).
Description
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vending machine for preparing and dispensing a beverage using hot water supplied from a hot water tank.
Background
For example, a cup type vending machine for vending coffee beverages generally includes a hot water tank for heating and storing water stored therein by a heating device such as a heater, and the hot water stored in the hot water tank is supplied to a kettle (brewer), a cup, and a mixing bowl to prepare and vend a selected beverage. (see, for example, patent document 1).
The hot water tank of such a vending machine requires energy saving and continuous hot water selling capability. For example, a conventional general vending machine focuses on continuous vending capacity, and there is a vending machine using a large-capacity hot water tank capable of storing about 30 cups of hot water. In this configuration, since the power consumption for keeping a large amount of stored hot water warm is large, it is difficult to achieve a large energy saving, and the high heat insulation of the hot water tank is not sufficiently performed. Therefore, in recent years, a configuration has been proposed in which a small-capacity hot water tank of about several cups is used while focusing on energy saving, but the hot water amount and the hot water temperature in the hot water tank are likely to decrease, and the continuous selling capacity is limited.
Documents of the prior art
Patent document
Patent document 1: japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2012-63923
Disclosure of Invention
Problems to be solved by the invention
In general vending machines, for example, the time required for boiling water from the last sale to the present sale is about 60 seconds, and the time actually required from the receipt of the deposit operation and the beverage selection operation to the end of the beverage sale is about 50 seconds. Therefore, when the hot water tank is reduced in capacity to save energy, or when the hot water in the hot water tank is used up even with a large capacity hot water tank, the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is low for about 10 seconds from the last sale to the present sale. Therefore, the conventional vending machine is sold out for about 10 seconds, and releases the receiving operation of the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation, and loses the selling opportunity during the period.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a vending machine capable of avoiding loss of a vending opportunity as much as possible.
Means for solving the problems
The vending machine according to the present invention includes a hot water tank having a heating device for heating stored hot water, and dispenses a beverage prepared using the hot water supplied from the hot water tank, and is characterized in that: the hot water supply system comprises a control device which controls the hot water tank to maintain the receiving states of the depositing action and the beverage selecting action when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is above or below the selling temperature, wherein when the depositing action and the beverage selecting action are received, the control device starts the selling action when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is above the selling temperature, and on the other hand, when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is below the selling temperature, the control device controls the hot water tank to supply hot water after the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is above the selling temperature through the heating device.
According to this configuration, since the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is at any of the selling temperature or higher and the selling temperature lower than the selling temperature, the loss of the selling opportunity occurring during the time when the selling display is performed when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is lowered in the conventional art can be avoided as much as possible, and the convenience of the purchaser and the sales amount and profit of the operator can be improved.
The controller may start the vending operation when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is lower than the vendable temperature and may perform the hot water supply operation when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is equal to or higher than the vendable temperature, when the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received.
In this case, it is preferable that the control device performs a preceding operation not using hot water in the selling operation before starting the hot water supply operation. In this way, even when the hot water is sold in a state where the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is lower than the vendable temperature, the preceding operation can be performed before the hot water supply operation, and therefore the waiting time from the selection of the beverage to the actual taking by the purchaser is not extended.
The advanced operation may include any or all of an operation of dispensing a cup for selling a beverage, an operation of discharging a powdery material used for the beverage, an operation of crushing a solid material used for the beverage, and an operation of moving the cup to a brewing position.
The controller may start the vending operation after the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank reaches or exceeds the vendable temperature by the heater when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is lower than the vendable temperature upon receiving the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation.
The vending machine may further include a display device capable of displaying a sold-out state of the beverage, and the control device may display at least a sold-out state of the beverage using the hot water on the display device and may release at least a reception state of a beverage selection operation for the beverage showing the sold-out state when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is lower than a sellable temperature and it is determined that a predetermined time or longer is required to heat the hot water temperature in the hot water tank to a sellable temperature or higher. In this way, long waiting times for the purchaser can be avoided.
In this case, if the display device can display the standby time until the start of the sale of the product at the same time as the display of the sold-out state, the time required to start the sale of the product can be appropriately notified to the purchaser, and thus the loss of the sales opportunities can be minimized.
The controller determines that the hot water tank is abnormal and performs the refund operation and the recovery operation when the hot water tank receives the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is lower than the vendable temperature and the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is not higher than the vendable temperature within a predetermined time. Thus, long waiting time for the purchaser can be avoided.
The vending machine includes a countdown display device that displays a countdown of a standby time until the beverage is provided when the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received, and the controller receives the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is lower than the vendable temperature, and then corrects or does not display the countdown of the countdown display device when it is determined that the standby time until the beverage is provided needs to be extended.
Effects of the invention
According to the present invention, since the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is at any of the selling temperature or higher and the selling temperature lower than the selling temperature, the loss of the selling opportunity occurring when the hot water in the hot water tank is sold out at the time of lowering the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank in the conventional art can be avoided as much as possible, and the convenience of the purchaser and the sales and profit of the operator can be improved.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing a control system of the vending machine shown in fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a timing chart showing a first control method of the vending machine.
Fig. 4 is a timing chart showing a second control method of the vending machine.
Description of the symbols
10 automatic vending machine
12 water tank
14 hot water tank
16 coffee bean pot
18 powder raw material tank
20 cup mechanism
22 cup moving mechanism
24 commodity outlet
26 Water Pump
28 water valve
32a, 32b hot water supply valve
34 cup
36 grinding mill
38 kettle (brewer)
40 control device
40a vending control unit
40b hot water tank control part
40c storage unit
42 input device
44 display device
46 money throwing-in port
48 beverage selection button
50 temperature sensor
52 heater
54 water level sensor
56 Heat storage body
Detailed Description
Hereinafter, the automatic vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail by referring to the drawings.
Fig. 1 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a vending machine 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vending machine 10 is a cup-type beverage supply device that prepares and dispenses beverages such as coffee, and may be a beverage vending machine or the like. Here, the sale includes both paid and gratuitous.
As shown in fig. 1, the vending machine 10 includes a water tank 12, a hot water tank 14, a coffee bean tank 16, a powdery material tank 18, a cup mechanism 20, a cup moving mechanism 22, and a commodity outlet 24.
The water tank 12 is a reservoir that stores water from a tap water pipe. The water stored in the water tank 12 is supplied to the hot water tank 14 by the water pump 26 via the water valve 28. The hot water tank 14 heats and stores water supplied from the water tank 12 to a desired temperature, for example, 94 to 97 ℃ by a heater (heating device) 52 provided therein. The hot water stored in the hot water tank 14 is kept at a desired temperature by the heater 52, and is taken out and supplied to the beverage preparation process by a fixed amount of, for example, 150ml at a time through the hot water supply valves 32a and 32b at the time of beverage preparation. The hot water tank 14 is configured to store hot water of about 500ml to 10L, for example, according to the specification of the vending machine 10.
The vending machine 10 according to the present embodiment can prepare and sell a conventional coffee beverage in which coffee is extracted from roasted coffee beans and an instant coffee beverage using a coffee material in powder form as coffee beverages.
In a conventional coffee beverage vending operation, a vending signal is received and a cup 34 is discharged from the cup mechanism 20, and the discharged cup 34 is moved by the cup moving mechanism 22 to a brewing position downstream of the powdery raw material tank 18 as needed. A predetermined amount of powdery raw materials such as cream 18b and granulated sugar 18c are put into the cup 34 moved to the preparation position from the powdery raw material tank 18. On the other hand, coffee beans are put from the coffee bean tank 16 into the mill 36, and an appropriate amount of coffee beans ground in the mill 36 is put into the pot 38. Hot water is supplied from the hot water tank 14 to the pot 38 through the hot water supply valve 32a, and conventional coffee beverage extraction is performed. The extracted conventional coffee beverage is poured into the cup 34 which is moved to the brewing position on the downstream side of the pot 38 by the cup moving mechanism 22. The cup 34 filled with the conventional coffee beverage is transported by the cup moving mechanism 22 to the next brewing position, i.e. the product removal opening 24. Then, the cup 34 conveyed to the commodity outlet 24 is stirred and mixed by a not-shown stirring device to prepare a desired conventional coffee beverage, and the coffee beverage is supplied to a purchaser.
On the other hand, in the selling operation of the instant coffee beverage, the cup 34 is discharged from the cup mechanism 20 after receiving the selling signal, and the discharged cup 34 is moved to the brewing position downstream of the powdery raw material tank 18 by the cup moving mechanism 22. A predetermined amount of powdery materials such as coffee 18a, cream 18b, granulated sugar 18c are put into the cup 34 moved to the preparation position from the powdery material tank 18. The cup 34 containing the powder material is transported to the next preparation position, i.e., the commodity outlet 24, by the cup moving mechanism 22. Hot water is supplied from the hot water tank 14 to the cup 34 fed to the commodity outlet 24 through the hot water supply valve 32b, and the hot water is stirred and mixed by a stirring device, not shown, to prepare a desired instant coffee beverage, which is then supplied to the purchaser.
Thus, fig. 1 illustrates a configuration in which the cup 34 containing coffee, cream, granulated sugar, and the like is moved to the commodity outlet 24 by the cup moving mechanism 22, and the final preparation of the beverage is performed by the stirring device. Of course, a configuration may be adopted in which a desired beverage is prepared by stirring and mixing coffee, cream, granulated sugar, and the like in a not-shown stirring bowl, and the beverage is poured into the cup 34 that has been transported to the product outlet 24.
Although not shown in fig. 1, the vending machine 10 may include various configurations such as a carbonator and an ice maker for producing and selling carbonated beverages, and a raw liquid tank for storing syrup materials for fruit juice beverages, in addition to the above-described configuration necessary for producing and selling coffee beverages.
Fig. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing a control system of the vending machine 10 shown in fig. 1.
As shown in fig. 2, the vending machine 10 includes a control device (control means) 40 for controlling the driving of the entire vending machine 10. The control device 40 includes a vending control part 40a, a hot water tank control part 40b, and a storage part 40 c. An input device (input means) 42 including a keyboard, a ten-key button, and the like, and a display device 44 including a liquid crystal display and the like are connected to the control device 40.
The vending controller 40a controls the preparation and vending of the beverage by controlling the driving of the powder material tank 18, the coffee bean tank 16, the pot 38, the hot water supply valves 32a and 32b, the cup mechanism 20, the cup moving mechanism 22, and the like, upon receiving a money input signal from a money input port 46 having a paper money insertion port and a coin input port, and upon receiving a vending signal, which is a product selection signal, from the beverage selection button 48.
The hot water tank controller 40b controls the driving of a heater 52 provided in the hot water tank 14 based on the hot water temperature (hot water tank temperature) measured by a temperature sensor 50 provided in the hot water tank 14, and controls the heating and holding of the inside of the hot water tank 14 to a desired hot water temperature. The hot water tank controller 40b controls the drive of the water pump 26 and the water valve 28 based on the hot water amount (the level of hot water) measured by the water level sensor 54 provided in the hot water tank 14, and controls the hot water tank 14 to maintain a desired hot water amount. As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the hot water tank 14 having the instantaneous heating structure by the heater 52 is used, and the block-shaped heat storage body 56 made of aluminum or the like is impregnated in the hot water tank 14, whereby the boiling rate of hot water in the hot water tank 14 can be further increased by the heat capacity of the heat storage body 56. The heat storage body 56 may not be provided.
The storage unit 40c is a memory in which various data such as a control temperature and a control water level in the hot water tank 14 are stored, and various control programs (for example, a first or second control method described later) executed by the control device 40 are also stored.
The input device 42 is an input mechanism for inputting various setting changes and setting data. The display device 44 includes a sold-out lamp for displaying a sold-out of a predetermined beverage, a countdown indicator (countdown display device) for displaying a countdown of time required until the preparation of the beverage is completed, and the like.
Next, a selling operation of the vending machine 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to a time chart shown in fig. 3.
Fig. 3 is a timing chart showing a first control method of the vending machine 10. In fig. 3, "deposit and selection accepted state" indicates whether or not the operation of depositing into the money deposit port 46 and the operation of selecting a beverage by the beverage selection button 48 are accepted, "yes" indicates an accepted state, and "no" indicates a non-accepted state. The "selling operation" means a preparation and selling operation of the conventional coffee beverage or the instant coffee beverage described above. "yes" indicates active and "no" indicates inactive. The "hot water supply operation" indicates only a supply operation (hot water supply operation) of supplying hot water from the hot water tank 14 in the above-described selling operation, and "yes" indicates that the operation is in progress and "no" indicates that the operation is not in progress. The "water supply operation" indicates a supply operation (water supply operation) of supplying water from the water tank 12 to the hot water tank 14, the "yes" indicates an operation, and the "no" indicates a non-operation. "hot water tank temperature" represents the temperature of hot water in the hot water tank 14 as measured by the temperature sensor 50, "high" represents a state above the beverage selling temperature, and "low" represents a state below the beverage selling temperature. The beverage may be sold at a temperature of, for example, the legal temperature, 85 ℃ or higher for conventional coffee beverages, 63 ℃ or higher for instant coffee beverages, and in practice, 90 ℃ or higher, for example.
Fig. 3 illustrates a case where the previous selling operation is completed within 50 seconds from time t1 to t4, the desired beverage is provided to the previous purchaser, the present depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received at time t5 10 seconds after the completion of the previous selling operation, and the desired beverage is provided to the present purchaser after the completion of the present selling operation within 50 seconds from time t5 to t 9.
That is, the previous sales is received at time t1 in a state where the money is deposited and the selection is received before time t1 and the hot water tank temperature is equal to or higher than the vendable temperature. Then, under the control of the control device 40, the previous selling operation is started from time t1, and the discharge operation of the cup 34 by the cup mechanism 20, the movement operation of the cup 34 to the brewing position by the cup moving mechanism 22, the discharge operation of the powdered beverage used for the beverage from the powdered raw material tank 18, the grinding operation of the coffee beans used for the beverage by the grinder 36, and the like are started as necessary. In the selling operation, the deposit/selection accepting state is changed to the non-accepting state.
In this vending operation, the hot water supply valves 32a and 32b are appropriately driven at time t2 when hot water is required to be used, and a hot water supply operation is performed. When the water level of the hot water tank 14 is lowered by the hot water supply operation, the water pump 26 and the water valve 28 are appropriately driven to supply water into the hot water tank 14, and therefore, the hot water tank temperature becomes lower than the vendable temperature (time t 3). Therefore, at time t3, the hot water tank control unit 40b energizes the heater 52 and starts heating the hot water in the hot water tank 14. By this heating, the hot-water tank temperature becomes equal to or higher than the selling temperature at time t 6. Depending on the specifications of the heater 52 and the hot water tank 14, for example, the hot water boiling time from time t3 to time t6 requires about 30 to 50 seconds.
After the last selling operation is finished (time t4), the prepared beverage is supplied to the purchaser through the product outlet 24, and the beverage is deposited and selected for the current sale at time t 4. In addition, in the conventional general vending machine, the deposit/selection accepted state is set to the non-accepted state and the vending is exhausted for the time period from time t4 to time t6 (about 15 seconds in fig. 3) at which the hot water tank temperature returns to the vendable temperature or higher, and the vending opportunity during this period is lost. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the deposit/selection acceptance state is set to the acceptance state during this period, and the loss of the sales opportunity can be avoided.
That is, at time t5 10 seconds after time t4, when the current sales is accepted from the current purchaser, the hot water tank temperature is lower than the vendable temperature at time t5 when the acceptance is accepted. Therefore, the control device 40 starts the present selling operation at time t5, and performs the selling operation without using hot water, such as the dispensing operation of the cup 34, the movement operation of the cup 34 to the brewing position, the discharge operation of the powdered beverage from the powdered-material tank 18, and the grinding operation of the coffee beans by the grinder 36, in advance.
Then, if the hot-water tank temperature returns to the saleable temperature or higher at time t6 in the operation (preceding operation) before the hot-water supply operation is performed, the hot- water supply valves 32a and 32b are appropriately driven at time t7 at which hot water is required to be used, and the hot-water supply operation is performed. Thereafter, as in the previous sales described above, when the water level of the hot water tank 14 drops, the water pump 26 and the water valve 28 are appropriately driven to supply water into the hot water tank 14 (time t8), and thus the hot water tank temperature is lower than the vendable temperature. Therefore, at time t8, the hot water tank control unit 40b turns on the heater 52 to start heating the hot water in the hot water tank 14.
When the present selling operation is finished (time t9), the prepared beverage is supplied to the purchaser through the product outlet 24, and the state of deposit and selection for the next sale is changed from this time t 9.
Next, a vending operation of the vending machine 10 in another mode will be described with reference to a time chart shown in fig. 4.
Fig. 4 is a timing chart showing a second control method of the vending machine 10. In the first control method shown in fig. 3, when the current vending is received (time t5 in fig. 3), the vending operation is started (time t5 in fig. 3) without waiting for the recovery of the hot-water tank temperature (time t6 in fig. 3). In contrast, in the second control method, the present deposit and selection acceptance state is set to the acceptance state immediately after the end of the previous sale (time t4 in fig. 4), but the present sale operation is performed after waiting for the hot water tank temperature to return (time t6 in fig. 4) (time t6a in fig. 4).
That is, as shown in fig. 4, when the last selling operation is finished (time t4), the prepared beverage is supplied to the purchaser through the product outlet 24, and the state of deposit and selection acceptance for the current selling operation is changed from the time t 4. Then, at time t5 10 seconds after time t4, when the current sales is accepted from the current purchaser, the hot water tank temperature is lower than the vendable temperature at time t5 when the acceptance is received.
Therefore, when the hot water tank temperature returns to the vendable temperature or higher after waiting for the hot water tank temperature to return to the vendable temperature at time t6, the controller 40 starts the present vending operation from time t6a immediately after the return, performs the dispensing operation of the cup 34, the movement operation of the cup 34 to the brewing position, the discharge operation of the powdered beverage from the powdered-material tank 18, the grinding operation of the coffee beans by the grinder 36, and the like, and performs the hot water supply operation by appropriately driving the hot water supply valves 32a and 32b at time t7 when the hot water is required to be used.
When the present selling operation is finished (time t9), the prepared beverage is supplied to the purchaser through the product outlet 24, and the state of deposit and selection acceptance for the present selling operation is changed from the time t 9.
As described above, in the vending machine 10 according to the present embodiment, the controller 40 controls the receiving state of the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation to be maintained (before time t1 in fig. 3 and 4, at times t4 and t9 in fig. 3 and 4) in both cases where the hot water temperature (hot water tank temperature) in the hot water tank 14 is equal to or higher than the vendable temperature and lower than the vendable temperature. When the deposit operation and the beverage selection operation are received, the controller 40 starts the vending operation when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 is equal to or higher than the vendable temperature (time t1 in fig. 3 and 4), and performs the hot water supply operation from the hot water tank 14 after the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 is equal to or higher than the vendable temperature by the heater 52 when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 is lower than the vendable temperature (time t7 in fig. 3 and 4).
As described above, in the automatic vending machine 10, the selling operation and the beverage selecting operation are received without displaying a sold-out indication at the display device 44 regardless of the state of the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 in a normal state, so that the loss of the selling opportunity occurring at the time of the sold-out indication when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 is lowered in the conventional art can be avoided as much as possible, and both the convenience of the purchaser and the sales volume and benefit of the operator can be improved. In particular, in recent years, the hot water tank 14 has been reduced in volume to save energy, and the heater 52 and the heat storage body 56 are used to instantaneously heat the hot water, so that the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 can be restored within several seconds to several tens of seconds. Therefore, by receiving the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation even for several seconds to several tens of seconds required for returning the hot water temperature, the loss of the selling opportunity can be reduced as much as possible. In addition, after the purchaser takes out the beverage the previous time, the purchaser usually takes a beverage selection time considering which beverage the purchaser has purchased, a money preparation time for preparing the money to be put in, a selection operation time for pressing the beverage selection button 48, a condition setting time for selecting the concentration of the coffee beverage, the increase and decrease of the cream and the granulated sugar, and the like. Therefore, there is a time (for example, between time t4 and time t5 in fig. 3 and 4) that can be effectively used until the vending machine 10 actually starts the vending operation. Therefore, since the hot water boiling by the heater 52 is continued even at this time, the waiting time until the purchaser actually takes the beverage is hardly increased even if the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 is low.
In this case, in the first control method shown in fig. 3, the controller 40 performs control such that, when the deposit operation and the beverage selection operation are received (time t5 in fig. 3), when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank 14 is lower than the vendable temperature, the vending operation is started (time t5 in fig. 3), and when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank 14 becomes equal to or higher than the vendable temperature, the hot water supply operation is performed (times t6 and t7 in fig. 3). In particular, since the preceding operation without using hot water is performed before the hot water supply operation is started, the waiting time from the selection of the beverage to the actual taking by the purchaser is not extended even when the hot water in the hot water tank 14 is sold in a state where the temperature of the hot water is lower than the venable temperature.
On the other hand, in the second control method shown in fig. 4, the controller 40 controls the hot water tank 14 to reach the vendable temperature or higher by the heater 52 (time t6 in fig. 4) when the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received (time t5 in fig. 4) and when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank 14 is lower than the vendable temperature, the vending operation is started (time t6a in fig. 4). In this case, since the selling operation is performed after the return of the hot water temperature is waited for, there is a possibility that the selling time is prolonged as compared with the first control method described above, but since the hot water boiling is normally performed during the beverage selection time of the purchaser or the like as described above, the waiting time from the selection of the beverage to the actual collection of the beverage by the purchaser is hardly prolonged. In the second control method, although the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received, the selling operation is started after the hot water tank 14 is waited for the hot water temperature to return, and therefore the control procedure is simple. Therefore, there is an advantage that the present vending machine already installed on the market can be easily applied only by a simple program update process.
In the first and second control methods of the automatic vending machine 10, the control device 40 may be configured to control the display device 44 to display at least a sold-out state of the beverage using the hot water and to release at least a reception state of the beverage selection operation for the beverage showing the sold-out state when it is determined that the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 is lower than the selling temperature and that a predetermined time or longer is required to heat the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 to the selling temperature or higher. That is, in the vending machine 10, the temperature sensor 50 always monitors the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14, and the controller 40 may determine that the return of the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 14 requires a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) or more even if the beverage selection button 48 is pressed at that moment according to the state of the hot water temperature. In this case, since it is considered that there is a possibility that the actual supply of the beverage is greatly delayed, the display device 44 may perform a sold-out display to avoid an excessive waiting time for the purchaser. Whether or not the hot water temperature needs to be restored within a predetermined time period or longer is determined by, for example, storing in the storage unit 40c experimental data (temperature increase curve) obtained by measuring a temporal change in the hot water temperature increase by the heater 52 in the hot water tank 14, and comparing the current hot water temperature with the experimental data.
At this time, the display device 44 may display a sold-out state and display a waiting time until the start of the sale. This makes it possible to appropriately notify the purchaser of the time required until the start of the sale, and therefore, the loss of the sale opportunity can be minimized. The standby time until the start of the vending may be an estimated time required to warm the hot water in the hot water tank 14 to a temperature equal to or higher than the vendable temperature, or may be a time obtained by subtracting a time from the start of the preceding operation to the start of the hot water supply operation (for example, between time t5 and time t6 in fig. 3) from the estimated time.
In the first and second control methods of the vending machine 10 described above, the control device 40 may perform control such that, when the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank 14 is lower than the vendable temperature, and then the hot water temperature in the hot water tank 14 cannot be made to reach the vendable temperature or higher within a predetermined time, for example, when a failure of the heater 52 or a large error occurs in measurement of the hot water temperature return time of the control program, it is determined that the hot water temperature is abnormal, and the return operation such as the refund operation and the disposal of the cup 34 is performed. Therefore, the condition that the waiting time is too long is avoided from being brought to the purchaser.
In the first and second control methods of the vending machine 10 described above, when the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received, the display device 44 counts down the standby time until the beverage is provided, and the control device 40 may perform control such that the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank 14 is lower than the venable temperature, and then, when it is determined that the standby time until the beverage is provided needs to be extended, the count down display or the count down display of the display device 44 may be corrected or not displayed. This makes it possible to notify the purchaser of the standby time until the beverage is actually provided, and to prevent erroneous notification of the standby time.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be freely modified within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.
Claims (6)
1. A vending machine including a hot water tank having a heating device that heats stored hot water, and serving a brewed beverage using the hot water supplied from the hot water tank to be dispensed in a cup, the vending machine characterized in that:
comprises a control device for controlling the receiving state of the depositing action and the beverage selecting action to be maintained under the condition that the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is above or below the selling temperature,
the controller is configured to prepare the beverage to start a selling operation of selling the beverage by performing a preceding operation of preparing the cup and a raw material of the beverage and a hot water supply operation of supplying hot water in the hot water tank to the cup when a hot water temperature in the hot water tank is equal to or higher than a vendable temperature upon receiving the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation, and to start the selling operation in addition to the hot water supply operation and perform the hot water supply operation after the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is equal to or higher than the vendable temperature by the heating device when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is lower than the vendable temperature.
2. The vending machine of claim 1, wherein:
the preceding operation includes any or all of an operation of discharging the cup, an operation of discharging a powder material used for the beverage, an operation of pulverizing a solid material used for the beverage, and an operation of moving the cup to the brewing position.
3. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:
comprising display means capable of displaying a sold-out condition of the beverage,
the controller displays at least that a beverage using hot water is sold out on the display device and releases at least a reception state of a beverage selection operation for the beverage displayed in the sold out state when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is lower than a selling temperature and it is determined that a predetermined time or more is required to heat the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank to the selling temperature or more.
4. The vending machine of claim 3, wherein:
the display device can display the sold-out state and the standby time till the beginning of the sale.
5. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:
the controller determines that the hot water tank is abnormal and performs the refund operation and the recovery operation when the hot water tank receives the deposit operation and the beverage selection operation when the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is lower than the vendable temperature and the hot water temperature in the hot water tank is not higher than the vendable temperature within a predetermined time.
6. The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:
comprises a countdown display device for displaying the countdown of the standby time until the beverage is provided when the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received,
the controller corrects the countdown display of the countdown display device or does not perform the countdown display when it is determined that the standby time until the beverage is provided needs to be extended after the depositing operation and the beverage selecting operation are received when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is lower than the vendable temperature.
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| CN201510100295.4A CN105989669B (en) | 2015-03-06 | 2015-03-06 | Automatic vending machine |
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| CN201510100295.4A CN105989669B (en) | 2015-03-06 | 2015-03-06 | Automatic vending machine |
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| CN105989669B true CN105989669B (en) | 2020-03-06 |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN107016534A (en) * | 2016-01-27 | 2017-08-04 | 阿里巴巴集团控股有限公司 | Vending machine Withdrawing method and device |
| CN107590908A (en) * | 2017-10-27 | 2018-01-16 | 刘桂生 | A kind of self-service vending machine |
| JP6954171B2 (en) * | 2018-02-16 | 2021-10-27 | 富士電機株式会社 | Beverage supply device |
| CN110517408A (en) * | 2019-08-22 | 2019-11-29 | 周学强 | Vending Machine |
| CN112884983B (en) * | 2021-01-12 | 2023-05-26 | 万梅 | Make beverage unmanned vending machine |
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| CN105989669A (en) | 2016-10-05 |
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