EP0242423A2 - Automatic food dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

A food vending machine has a storage cupboard for a plurality of chilled or uncooled dishes and a square oven (40). One wall (42) of the oven (40) is provided with an entrance door (46) and another wall (43) with an exit door (47) for inserting or removing a food dish (28). A first conveyor device (49) is used to transfer the food dishes (28) from the storage cupboard through the entrance door (46) into the oven (40). A second conveyor device (50) is used to transfer the food trays (28) through the exit door (47) into an output position.

In order to achieve a simple movement sequence of the various moving elements with the most compact possible construction, the walls (42, 43) adjoin one another via a corner of the furnace (40).

Description

The invention relates to a food vending machine with a storage cabinet for a plurality of chilled or uncooled dishes, with a cuboid-shaped oven, in which one wall is provided with an entrance door and another wall with an exit door for inserting or removing a food dish and with a first conveyor for Transfer the dishes from the pantry the entrance door into the oven and a second conveyor for transferring the food dishes through the exit door into an output position.

Such a food machine is known from DE-OS 34 12 899.

The known food vending machine is modular in the manner described. The serving cabinet is equipped with all the units required to select and pay for the food, and it also contains the elements required to accept, heat if necessary, and also to dispense the food.

In contrast, a storage cupboard is provided, which is used only for storing the food, in particular chilled or frozen food. When a certain number of dishes have been removed from it, the pantry can be exchanged for a new, filled pantry without the serving cabinet having to be moved for this purpose.

In the known food vending machine, an elongated, vertically extending opening is provided in the two adjacent side walls of the storage cupboard or serving cupboard, which extends almost over the entire height of the cupboards. The opening in the side wall of the dispensing cabinet is open, while in the opening of the storage cabinet there is a roller shutter which is like a blind and provides thermal insulation of the storage cabinet from the dispensing cabinet. A transfer opening is provided only in a vertical position of this roller shutter, which can be moved together with the roller valve in the vertical direction, so that a food dish can be taken into the serving cabinet from one level of the storage cupboard.

For this purpose, a transport slide is provided, which is preferably arranged in the dispensing cabinet and can be moved there in at least two directions. On the one hand, the transport slide can be moved in height so that it can approach each level of the stored food dishes in the storage cupboard, on the other hand it can also be moved laterally into the storage cupboard - through the transfer opening - so that it can take a food bowl out of the storage cabinet and can transfer into the output cabinet.

The transport pusher first transfers the selected food dish in the serving cabinet to a predetermined height, at which the food dish is moved laterally to a transfer position. From the transfer position, the food bowl is conveyed forward in the known food vending machine by means of a conveyor belt into a continuous microwave oven, which is provided with a folding door at the front and rear end for this purpose. After a short stay in the microwave oven, during which the food has been heated in a suitable manner, the food dish on the conveyor belt leaves the microwave oven to the front and then arrives at an inclined slide on which the food dish slides into the serving position, which is defined by a front stop is. In the known food vending machine, the delivery position is constantly open to the outside.

In the known automatic food machine, a relatively complex mechanism is required to synchronize the various movements during the transport of the food from the pantry through the oven to the serving position. In particular, the doors of the oven must be coordinated so that they are open at the right time when the food dish is to be moved into or out of the oven, because it would lead to considerable malfunctions if a food was either at locked entrance of the oven or is not conveyed out of the oven in time.

Another disadvantage of the known food vending machine is that, due to inhomogeneities in the spatial heat distribution in the oven, inhomogeneous heating of the dishes also occurs, so that in extreme cases when using frozen foods as the starting material, these dishes are served in a form in which a part of the Food is fully heated, while another part is still cold or even frozen.

Another disadvantage of the known device is that the conveying devices for conveying the food dishes into and out of the oven are of relatively complicated construction and can therefore be a source of possible faults. However, the susceptibility to interference is a particularly important point in the food vending machine according to the invention, because these vending machines are frequently used in rush mode, for example during a lunch break in a manufacturing company, and it must therefore be ensured that all users receive their meals even without waiting times. Finally, a disadvantage of the known automatic food machine is that the oven inside the machine is relatively difficult to access, so that longer downtimes occur during repair or maintenance work.

The invention is therefore based on the object of developing a food processor of the type mentioned in such a way that the disadvantages mentioned above are avoided. In particular, the movement sequence in the area of the furnace is to be simplified with a minimal space requirement.

This object is achieved in that the walls adjoin one another over a corner of the furnace.

The object on which the invention is based is completely achieved in this way because the food dishes are conveyed through the oven on a path angled by 90 °, so that only a minimal space is required, and at the same time the movement sequences are particularly simple with one another due to the compact arrangement can be coordinated.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the doors are designed as an angular part spanning the corner and forming both doors.

This measure has the advantage that both doors can be opened or closed by a simple linear movement using a single actuation unit. Any coordination problems between the opening movements of the two doors cannot occur.

In a further embodiment of the invention, a turntable is arranged in the oven, onto which the food dishes can be placed by means of the first conveyor and from which the food dishes can be removed by means of the second conveyor.

This measure has the advantage that possible inhomogeneities in the heat distribution in the oven can be compensated for by rotating the food dish because all areas of the food reach potentially different heat zones as a result of the rotation of the food dish. When using a microwave oven, the rotation of the dish also has the advantage that the field distribution of the microwaves in the oven is constantly changed, so that zones of very different heat development cannot occur.

In a preferred embodiment of this embodiment, the turntable has radial recesses into which telescopic holders of the first conveyor device engage.

This measure has the advantage that the food trays can be brought into and removed from the microwave oven with an extremely simple conveyor, because, for example, when loading the oven, the telescopic holder on which the food tray removed from the pantry is located in the Radial recesses of the turntable can move in and then lower, so that the dish is now seated on the turntable. After the telescopic holder has been moved out, the food dish can now be rotated on the turntable and, after heating, can be pushed out of the oven in any angular position. For this purpose, a motor vehicle motor antenna is provided as a second conveyor in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

This measure has the advantage that a motor vehicle motor antenna is an inexpensive, mass-produced product that reliably allows a defined axial movement to be carried out with electrical control signals, the force of the drive motors used in these motor antennas being sufficiently dimensioned to be extended in addition to the frictional resistances Telescope of the motor antenna also exert a linearly directed force which is sufficient to move a food dish of the size of interest here.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, the oven is displaceable and can be removed through an opening in a wall of the food vending machine.

This measure has the advantage that even inexperienced personnel, be it at regular intervals or on a case-by-case basis, can easily pull the oven out of the housing of the food processor and clean it there thoroughly. In addition, the ease of servicing of the food vending machine also increases because, of course, the oven can also be pulled out of the housing for repair purposes in the manner mentioned.

In a particularly preferred variant of this exemplary embodiment, the oven runs on rollers.

This measure has the advantage that the furnace can be pulled out of the housing particularly easily, but sliding or other guides, as are known per se, are also suitable.

In a further variant of this embodiment of the invention, the oven can be displaced transversely to a second direction in a first direction, in which the food is dispensed from the oven.

This measure has the advantage that in the case of a food processor with feeding the food into the oven from behind or from one side and dispensing on the front, the units required for introducing or dispensing are not in the way when the oven is pulled out of the housing.

Further advantages result from the description and the attached drawing.

It goes without saying that the features mentioned above and those yet to be explained below can be used not only in the combination specified in each case, but also in other combinations or on their own without departing from the scope of the present invention.

• Fig. 1 eine perspektivische Gesamtdarstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Speisenautomaten;
• Fig. 2 ein Ausführungsbeispiel eines Ofens, wie er in einem erfindungsgemäßen Speisenautomaten verwendet werden kann:
• Fig. 3 eine perspektivische Darstellung des in Fig. 2 gezeigten Ausführungsbeispiels;
• Fig.4a und 4b eine Draufsicht in eine Seitenansicht des Ofens gemäß den Fig. 2 und 3 zur weiteren Erläuterung von Ausführungsbeispielen;
• Fig. 5 eine Darstellung, ähnlich Fig. 4a, zur Erläuterung einer verwendeten Fördereinrichtung;
• Fig. 6 eine Darstellung, ähnlich Fig. 5, jedoch zur Erläuterung einer weiteren Fördereinrichtung;
• Fig. 7 eine schematisierte Seitenansicht, teilweise im Schnitt, des Inneren eines Ausgabeschranks zur Erläuterung eines Ausführungsbeispiels einer Fördereinrichtung gemäß Fig. 6;
• Fig. 8 eine Schnittdarstellung eines weiteren Ausführungsbeipiels eines Ofens in einem Speisenautomaten in seitlicher Ansicht;
• Fig. 9 das Ausführungsbeispiel gemäß Fig. 8 in einer Ansicht von vorne.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawing and are explained in more detail in the following description. Show it:

• 1 is an overall perspective view of a food vending machine according to the invention;
• 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of an oven as can be used in a food vending machine according to the invention:
• Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 2;
• 4a and 4b show a top view in a side view of the furnace according to FIGS. 2 and 3 for further explanation of exemplary embodiments;
• FIG. 5 shows an illustration, similar to FIG. 4a, to explain a conveyor device used;
• FIG. 6 shows an illustration, similar to FIG. 5, but to explain a further conveying device;
• 7 shows a schematic side view, partly in section, of the interior of a dispensing cabinet to explain an exemplary embodiment of a conveyor device according to FIG. 6;
• 8 shows a sectional illustration of a further exemplary embodiment of an oven in a food processor in a side view;
• Fig. 9 shows the embodiment of FIG. 8 in a view from the front.

Strength in _F. 1 designates 10 as a whole a food vending machine, which consists of a storage cupboard 11 and a serving cupboard 12, which are shown in FIG. 1 in a position apart from one another.

The storage cupboard 11 is provided with a selection station 14, at which the dishes contained in the storage cupboard 11 are listed and which may also contain switching elements, for example selection buttons or the like, so that the user of the food dispenser 10 can select the dishes he desires.

The dispensing cabinet 12 is provided with an amount display 16 on which the amount of money to be paid by the user is displayed. A number display 17 again shows which dishes have been selected and are currently being processed. A coin slot or a credit card or the like can now be used via a money slot 18 or a card slot 19. inserted or plugged in to pay for the meals.

The food, which is preferably kept at a low temperature in the storage cupboard 11, is transferred to the output cupboard 12, where appropriate heated by means of a microwave oven and output to the user via an output shaft 21 in the direction of an arrow 22.

It can also be seen in FIG. 1 that the storage cupboard 11 is provided in the side facing the dispensing cupboard 12 with an opening 26 which is filled by a roller shutter slide 24 and closed except for a transfer opening 27. Due to the height-adjustable transition opening 27, a level of the storage cupboard 11 can be selected, from which a food tray 28 is then transferred in the direction of an arrow 29 into the output cupboard 12. For this purpose, the side wall 30 of the dispensing cabinet 12 opposite the side wall 25 of the storage cupboard 11 is provided with an opening corresponding to the opening 26.

2 and 3, the oven 40, for example a microwave oven, has an approximately cuboid housing 41. A second wall 43 adjoins a first side wall 42 via a corner, an insertion opening 44 and a removal opening 45 being arranged in the walls 42, 43. The introduction opening 44 can be closed or opened with a first door 46, and a second door 47 is correspondingly provided at the removal opening 45. Both doors 46, 47 are designed as a one-piece angle part 48.

In the opened operating state shown in FIG. 3, a food dish 28 can be brought into the interior of the oven 40 through the introduction opening 44 via a first conveyor device 49 in the direction of the arrow 29.

If the food dish 28 has been brought into the position shown in FIG. 2 in the oven 40, in the illustration according to FIG. 3 the doors 46, 47 close down again and the oven 40 can be heated. If the food in the food dish 28 has been heated to the predetermined temperature, the doors 46, 47 are moved upward again in the illustration according to FIG. 3 and the food dish 28 can be fed through a second conveyor device 50 in the direction of arrow 22 through the removal opening 45 can be removed therefrom from the oven 40.

3 shows as an example that the angle part 48 can be provided in the region of the common edge of the doors 46, 47 with an extension in the form of an angle 51, on which a magnetic or pneumatic or electromagnetic actuating device known per se can act, to move the angle part 48 up or down in the direction of the double arrow 52 shown in FIG. 3.

4a and 4b, the cuboid furnace 40 is shown again in an open top view and side view. It can be seen that there is a turntable 60 in the interior of the furnace 40, which is arranged on a vertical rotary drive 61 so as to be rotatable about its vertical axis. For this purpose, a vertical shaft 62 is provided with a connecting part 63 at its upper end. A central web 64 protrudes upward from the connecting part 63 in the manner of a comb, and two side webs 65, 66 project laterally parallel and at a distance from it. Radial recesses 68, 69 are thereby formed between the webs 64, 65, 66. The shaft 62 with the connecting part 63 and webs 64, 65, 66 rotates, as indicated by an arrow 67, about a vertical axis.

The first conveyor device 49 has a slide, which comprises a substantially fixed stator 70 and two telescopic holders 71, 72. The holders 71, 72 preferably run laterally directly next to the stator 70 and can be designed in the manner of telescopic pull-outs as are known from drawers. The holders 71, 72 protrude slightly above the top of the stator 70 on their upper side. A food dish 28 which has been placed on the telescopic holder 71, 72 can therefore be moved with the holder 71, 72 relative to the stator 70.

FIG. 5 shows how a food dish 28 can be moved into the oven 40 by means of the first conveyor device 49. After the angular part 48 has been moved away, as shown in FIG. 3, the holders 71, 72 with the food dish 28 resting thereon can move into the interior of the oven 40 through the insertion opening 44. The holder 71, 72 run in the recesses 68, 69 between the webs 64, 65, 66. It is understood that the first conveyor 49 is adjusted in height during the insertion of the food dish 28 into the oven 40 so that the The underside of the food dish 28 is located above the upper edge of the webs 64, 65, 66.

When the food tray 28 has reached the position shown in dash-dotted lines in FIG. 5, the first conveyor device 49 is lowered somewhat so that the food tray 28 now sits on top of the webs 64, 65, 66 and the holders 71, 72 again to the stator 70 can be drawn in.

The angle part 48 with the doors 46, 47 is now lowered again and the oven 40 is switched on. During the heating process of the food, the turntable 60 is set in rotation so that remaining inhomogeneities in the heat distribution are averaged out.

If the food is sufficiently heated, the turntable 60 is moved into the position shown in FIG. 6, in which the food dish 28 has a position rotated by 90 ° with respect to the retracted position according to FIG. 5.

A second conveyor 50a can now reach through an opening 64 in the rear housing part of the oven 40 and in the direction of an arrow 73 push the food dish 28 forward out of the oven 40 in the direction of the arrow 22, as will be explained by way of example below with reference to FIG. 7 .

7 shows the introduction opening 44, through which the food dish 28 was brought into a warming-up position 80 in the oven 40 in a manner not shown in FIG. 7, as has just been described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 . After the food dish 28 has been heated, it reaches a front end 81 under the action of the second conveyor device 50a after it has passed the removal opening 45 of the oven 40.

From the front end 81, the food dish 28 moves in the direction of the arrow 22 to an output position 82 designed as a slide, which is delimited at the front by a stop 83.

The stop 83 is preferably in alignment with a front wall 84 of the dispensing cabinet 12 and the opening of the dispensing chute 21 realized thereby can be closed by means of a vertically displaceable sliding door 85 which can be moved in the direction of a double arrow 86.

In order to be able to move the food dish 28 from the warm-up position 80 to the front end 81, a first motor vehicle motor antenna 87 is arranged at the end opposite the front end 81, which is aligned and dimensioned in this way is that your telescope 88 can travel substantially the entire length of the bottom of the oven 40 in the direction of movement of the food dish 28,

With the aid of the first motor vehicle motor antenna 87, it is therefore possible to push a food dish 28 from the warm-up position 80 into the serving position 82, for which purpose the opening 74 which can be closed by the flap 75 is provided in the wall of the oven 40. The flap 75 is expediently closed during the warming up of the food.

The first motor vehicle motor antenna 87 can be actuated in a simple manner by means of an electrical control signal in order to implement the movement sequence explained above.

For the vertical movement of the sliding door 85 in the direction of the double arrow 86, a second motor vehicle motor antenna 90 is provided on the inside of the front wall 84, the telescope 91 of which is connected to the sliding door 85, so that the sliding door 85 in, also with the aid of simple electrical control signals Direction of the double arrow 86 can be moved.

In order to recognize the various indexed positions or end positions of the telescopes 88 and 91, position or limit switches known per se can be used, such as are already provided on site in some motor antennas, in order to switch off the antenna drive when an end position is reached.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 8 and 9, in order to make the oven 40 easily removable from the food processor 10, rollers 100, 101 are attached to the underside of the oven, which run in rails 102, 103.

As can be seen particularly well from FIG. 9, the rails 102, 103 are arranged in a direction that is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the food dish 28.

A pivotable door 105 is arranged in a wall 104 of the food vending machine 10 and closes an opening 107 in the wall 104. As can be seen from FIG. 9, the oven 40 can be removed in the direction of an arrow 106 through the opening 107 from the food processor 10 by means of the rollers 100, 101 and the rails 102, 103.

It goes without saying that numerous variants are also conceivable within the scope of the present invention, for example, instead of the rollers 100, 101 in rails 102, 103, a sliding guide can also be used. The direction of movement of the furnace 40 was, of course, only chosen in view of the specific embodiment. The oven 40 can also be removed from the food processor 10 in other directions, including upwards. The exact direction of movement of the oven 40 and the most expedient displacement elements depend on what the conveying direction of the food dish 28 is and where which units are arranged in the interior of the automatic food dispenser 10 that would prevent the oven 40 from moving.

Claims (8)

l. Automatic food with a storage cabinet (11) for a plurality of chilled or uncooled dishes, with a cuboid oven (40), in which one wall (42) with an entrance door (46) and another wall (43) with an exit door (47) for Introducing or removing a food dish (28), and with a first conveyor (49) for transferring the food dishes (28) from the storage cupboard (11) through the entrance door (46) into the oven (40) and a second conveyor ( 50) for transferring the food dishes (28) through the exit door (47) into an output position (82), characterized in that the walls (42, 43) adjoin one another via a corner of the oven (40). 2. Food vending machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the doors (46, 47) are formed as an angle part (48) spanning the corner, forming both doors (46, 47). 3. Food dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a rotary plate (60) is arranged in the oven (40) on which the food dishes (28) by means of the first conveyor (49) can be placed and from which the food dishes (28) by means the second conveyor (50) are removable. 4. Automatic food dispenser according to claim 3, characterized in that the turntable (60) has radial recesses (68, 69) in the telescopic holder (71, 72) of the first conveyor (49). 5. Food machine according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a motor vehicle motor antenna (87) is used as the second conveyor (50) 6. Food machine according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the oven (40) is displaceable and through an opening (107) in a wall (104) of the food machine (10) can be removed from this. 7. Food dispenser according to claim 6, characterized in that the oven (40) runs on rollers (100, 101). 8. Food processor according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the oven (40) is displaceable in a first direction transversely to a second direction in which the food is dispensed from the oven (40).

Images