JP2001167354A - Paper cup type automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cup type automatic vending machine which can easily indicate whether filter resistance is proper when coffee is extracted and properly set the filter resistance without skill if the filter resistance is not proper. SOLUTION: An extraction station state display 105A, an extraction time display 105A, and an extraction pressure display 105A based upon an extraction result are shown on a display 105. When the filter resistance is improper, an increase/decrease display 105D of the amount of ground beans in use and a granularity display 105E of the ground beans appear as information for setting the filter resistance within a proper range in addition to the mentioned displays.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cup-type vending machine, and more particularly, to displaying whether a coffee liquid extracting operation is proper or inappropriate and providing information for obtaining a proper extracting state. It relates to a cup type vending machine that can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional cup-type vending machine, coffee beans ground to a predetermined particle size are supplied to an extraction chamber having a pressure-resistant structure, and the ground beans are pumped at a predetermined pressure ( 5-10 kg / cm ² ) at a predetermined temperature (90
(100 ° C.) to extract coffee liquid by passing hot water.

[0003] In the extraction of ground beans, elution of coffee components such as flavor and aroma is promoted by using hot water. In addition, when hot water is supplied under pressure, the hot water easily penetrates into the ground bean tissue, and as a result, a strong coffee liquid can be extracted in a short time.

[0004]

However, according to the conventional cup-type vending machine, even if the extraction conditions such as the amount of hot water supplied, the type of ground beans, and the amount of ground beans used are the same, for example, moisture absorption of ground beans If there is a difference in state, the swelling property of the ground bean changes, which changes the filtration resistance. If the filtration resistance becomes large, not only does the extraction time become longer and the marketability decreases, but also the extraction pressure rises and, in the worst case, extraction becomes impossible. When the filtration resistance is low, the extraction time is short, and a coffee liquid that is not included in the coffee beans and is not sufficiently eluted is extracted. When the extraction conditions are changed to make the filtration resistance appropriate, under the above-mentioned pressure conditions (5 to 10 kg / cm ² ), the filtration resistance may greatly change even with a small change amount, and the extraction conditions may be changed. Has the problem of requiring skill.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to easily determine whether the filtration resistance at the time of coffee extraction is appropriate or inappropriate,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cup-type vending machine capable of appropriately setting a filtration resistance without requiring skill when the filtration resistance is inappropriate.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, ground beans obtained by crushing coffee beans to a predetermined particle size are supplied to an extractor, and a predetermined high-temperature hot water pressurized by a pump is heated. In a cup-type vending machine that produces a coffee beverage by supplying the extractor via a pipe from a tank, extraction that detects whether the extraction operation is appropriate or inappropriate based on the filtration resistance when extracting the ground beans. Provided is a cup-type vending machine having state detection means.

According to the above-mentioned cup-type vending machine, whether or not the extraction operation is performed in a stable state is detected by detecting whether the extraction operation is appropriate or inappropriate based on the filtration resistance when extracting the ground beans. Can be notified, for example, to the administrator of the cup-type vending machine.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cup-type vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A shows a cup-type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a cistern 2 is connected to an intake pipe 1 and a change in the water level of drinking water provided in the cistern 2 and stored. , A float switch 2A that outputs a water level lowering signal when the water level falls below a predetermined level, a water intake valve 1A provided in the water intake pipe 1, and heating of drinking water supplied from the cistern 2 via the pipe 3A. A hot water tank 10 for storing hot water at a predetermined temperature, a solenoid valve 20 provided in the pipe 3A, a pump 60 fixed to the outer periphery of the hot water tank 10 for supplying hot water by pressurizing, and the pump 60 and hot water A bypass pipe 60A connected to the tank 10, a relief valve 60B for returning hot water in the pump 60 to the hot water tank 10 by opening the bypass pipe 60A, and grinding and grinding coffee beans to a predetermined particle size. A ground bean supply unit 7 that forms beans, a ground bean canister 8 that discharges ground bean crushed to a predetermined particle size from a discharge port 80B and supplies the ground bean to an extractor described later, and a ground that falls from the ground bean supply unit 7 A measuring device 5 for receiving and measuring the beans, and a measuring device 5, a ground bean canister 8, or ground beans of a predetermined particle size supplied from the both are extracted with hot water to produce a coffee liquid, and the beverage supply pipe 30A Brewing machine 30 which supplies to cup 9 via a pressure control solenoid valve 9 provided in beverage supply pipe 30A and opened and closed at a predetermined timing
0, a pipe 6 for supplying hot water from the pump 60 to the extractor 30
A, a pressure sensor 25 provided in the pipe 6A for outputting a pressure signal corresponding to the pressure in the pipe, and a flow sensor 19 provided in the pipe 6A for outputting a flow signal corresponding to the flow rate of the hot water
A check valve 21 provided in the pipe 6A to prevent backflow of hot water to the upstream side, a pipe 6B branched from the pipe 6A upstream of the check valve 21 and connected to the hot water tank 10, and a pipe 6B
, A slag bucket 17 for receiving the extracted slag of coffee beans generated by the extractor 30, a cup 9
, A sugar container 11 for storing sugar, a cream container 12A for storing cream ingredients, a cream container 12B for storing cream ingredients for cappuccino, and a shoot 13 for sugar and cream.
And a mixing bowl 14 which is melted with a predetermined amount of hot water and supplied to the cup 9 via the supply pipe 14A, and hot water is supplied from the hot water tank 10 to the mixing bowl 14 arranged at the lower part of the cream container. The pipe 15A and the pipe 15
A, a pipe 15B for supplying hot water from a hot water tank 10 to a mixing bowl 14 disposed below the sugar container 11, and a hot water valve 2 provided for the pipe 15B.
3B, a pipe 6A branched from the pipe 6A on the downstream side of the check valve 21 to discharge the waste liquid to the drain bucket 18 through the hot water valve 24.
C.

The ground bean supply unit 7 includes a bean storage container 7A for storing coffee beans, a coffee mill 7B for grinding coffee beans with a grinding blade (not shown) rotating at high speed, and a grinding blade for the coffee mill 7B. It has a mill motor 7C to be rotated and a chute 7D that is supplied from the weighing device 5 and feeds the ground beans crushed and weighed based on the volume by the coffee mill 7B to the extractor 30. The coffee beans filled with deeply roasted coffee beans (for example, Brazil) are ground to be ground beans so as to have an average particle size of 500 μm.

The ground bean canister 8 is made of coffee beans roasted from lightly roasted to medium roasted (for example, Kilimanjaro).
Is stored in advance with ground beans having an average particle size of 750 μm.

The hot water tank 10 is provided with a heater H for heating drinking water.
A power supply unit 10A for supplying a current to the power supply ₁ , a float switch 10B for detecting a change in the water level of the hot water in the tank and outputting a water level lowering signal when the water level falls below a predetermined water level, Hot water temperature sensor 10 that outputs a temperature detection signal
D. Water amount of the hot water tank 10 is 5 liters output of the heater H ₁ is kept at about 97 ° C. water temperature of the hot water tank 10 with 1 kw. The hot water is returned from the pump 60 to the hot water tank 10 when the relief valve 60B of the pump 60 attached to the side is opened. Relief valve 6
The operating pressure of 0B is set to 10 kg / cm ² .

The extractor 30 includes a cylinder 32 to which ground beans are supplied via a chute 7D, a piston drive motor 33 for raising and lowering a piston 39 in the cylinder 32, and a torque transmission for transmitting a drive torque of the piston drive motor to the piston 39. A cylinder unit D integrally provided with a slide guide (described later) provided on the upper portion of the cylinder 32 and engaged with a guide rail (not shown) formed on the extractor main body; Cap 37 for supplying a predetermined high-temperature hot water into cylinder 32 through 6A
And a gear 36 for transmitting the driving torque of the cap motor 35 to tilt the cylinder unit D about the fulcrum 34A and to engage the cap 37 with the cylinder 32. A beverage supply pipe 30A for supplying the extracted coffee liquid to the cup 9 is attached to a lower portion of the cylinder 32 of the cylinder unit D, and a pressure adjusting solenoid valve 90 is attached to the beverage supply pipe 30A.

Further, when the ground beans used for extraction are supplied to the cylinder 32, the extractor 30 compresses before extraction (hereinafter referred to as tamping) so as to have a predetermined compression amount based on the relative movement of the cap 37 and the piston 39. To do).
After the hot water is supplied and extraction is performed, the piston 39 is pushed up in the direction of the cap 37 to perform post-extraction compression (hereinafter referred to as packing).

The pressure adjusting solenoid valve 90 is opened and closed based on a pressure value detected by a pressure sensor 25 provided in the pipe 6A or at a predetermined timing according to an extraction operation.

Further, in the cup-type vending machine having the above configuration, for the sake of simplicity, the cup supply section for supplying the cup 9, the power supply section for supplying current to the mill motor 7C, and the beverage in the cup 9 are stirred. The components such as the stirrer, the cold beverage piping, and the raw material storage unit are not shown.

FIG. 1B shows a control block of the cup-type vending machine, and a control unit 1 for controlling each part of the vending machine.
00, a memory 102 storing data such as sales data of coffee beverages and an extraction operation program, a timer 103 for counting a clock generated by a reference clock generator (not shown) to measure an extraction time, An input unit 104 provided with a numeric keypad for inputting various data such as the particle size and the amount of beans used, the amount of ground beans used from the input unit 104, the particle size of ground beans crushed by the coffee mill 7B, and the like. 105 having a liquid crystal display unit for displaying data such as vending machine setting values stored in the memory 102, the amount of movement of a piston 56D (described later) of the measuring device 5, a pressure sensor, a flow sensor, and a temperature. A detection unit 106 that outputs output signals of various sensors such as sensors to the control unit 100, and controls each solenoid valve based on a control signal output from the control unit 100. Having a valve drive unit 107 for moving, the motor drive unit 108 for driving the motor based on the control signal output from the control unit 100.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the extraction time and the extraction pressure in the above-described extractor 30. The extraction state is classified into the appropriate, semi-appropriate, and unsuitable ranges based on the relationship between the extraction time and the extraction pressure. The extraction state is classified as inappropriate A to inappropriate D based on the particle size of the ground beans and the amount of the ground beans used. The proper range is that the extraction pressure is 5 to 8 kg / cm ² and the extraction time is 8
１２12 seconds, extraction volume is 40-60 ml. In the case of unsuitable A, the size of the ground beans is too coarse and the extraction pressure does not increase. In the case of unsuitable B, the particle size of the ground beans is appropriate, but the filtration resistance is small due to the small amount used. In the case of unsuitable C, although the particle size of the ground beans is appropriate, the filtration resistance is large due to the large amount used. In the case of inappropriate D, the ground pressure is high because the ground beans are too fine. As a practical guide, it can be classified according to the above-mentioned criteria. Also. When performing classification with higher accuracy, it is necessary to take into account the amount of coffee liquid extracted, but this is omitted in the following description.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the coffee mill 7B.
Coffee beans B are filled from the bean storage container 7A (not shown) to the inside of the main body 75.
Crushing blade 76 rotatably accommodated inside the crusher, crushing blade 76, rotating shaft 7a of mill motor 7C for rotating crushing blade 76, and fixed blade fixed in main body 75 to face crushing blade 76 75A and a coffee bean conveying wire 7b spirally attached to the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 7a.
A grinding blade adjusting member 78 rotatably supporting the grinding blade 76 via a bearing 77; and a seal member 79 provided between the grinding blade adjusting member 78 and the main body 75. It is covered by a lid 7d provided on the end face of the main body 75.

The crushing blade 76 has a key 76A which is keyed to the rotary shaft 7a. The crushing blade 76 rotates based on the rotation of the rotary shaft 7a and is slidably connected in the longitudinal direction of the rotary shaft 7a.

The main body 75 includes a bean introducing portion 75C provided continuously with the coffee bean guiding portion 75B and a crushing blade adjusting member 7.
8 has a threaded portion 75D that is screw-engaged with the threaded portion 78A, and a ground bean discharge portion 75E that discharges the ground bean crushed by the crushing blade 76 and the fixed blade 75A to the introduction portion 5A of the measuring instrument 5.

The crushing blade adjusting member 78 has a screw portion 78A which is screw-engaged with the screw portion 75D of the main body 75, and the gear portion 78B formed at the end is gear-driven by a distance adjusting motor (not shown). As a result, the crushing blade 7
Move 6.

FIG. 4 shows the pump 60 and a pair of gears 6.
A gear pump that supplies hot water from the hot water tank 10 to the downstream side by rotating 0D and 60E in the direction of the arrow is formed. The pair of gears 60D and 60E rotate the rotation shaft 60F by the pump drive motor 60G to send out hot water to the pipe 6A at a supply amount corresponding to the rotation speed.

FIG. 5 shows the weighing device 5, which has a measuring chamber 51 having an introduction portion 5 A for introducing the ground beans into an upper portion, and a measuring chamber 51.
Hinge part 52 for rotatably supporting front lid 5B at the end of
And a piston rod 56 integrally formed with a piston 56D slidably housed inside the measuring chamber 51 and having a rack portion 56A on a side surface, and a spring portion 56B formed at a rear end of the piston rod 56. A notch 56C formed near the spring portion 56B, protrusions 50A and 50B attached to the measuring chamber 51 and abutting on the spring portion 56B to restrict the movement of the piston rod 56, and a notch in the spring portion 56B. An optical sensor 57 for optically detecting 56C and a driving gear 5 meshing with a rack 56A of the piston rod 56
The motor includes a drive shaft 58 having a drive shaft 8A, a weighing motor 59A for driving the drive shaft 58 via a torque transmission unit 59, and a weighing encoder 59B attached to the rotation shaft of the weighing motor 59A to detect the amount of rotation. The diameter of the drive gear 58A is 17.5 mm, and the outer peripheral length of the gear portion that meshes with the rack 56A is about 55 mm. The open end of the lid support member 5C reaches the side of the measuring chamber 51, and has a light detecting section 5E at the end that engages with an optical sensor 5D provided on the side of the measuring chamber 51.

FIG. 6A shows a state in which the front lid 5B of the weighing device 5 is closed, the pivot axis of the hinge part 52 is provided in the vertical direction, and the front lid 5B is rotated in the horizontal direction to measure the measuring chamber. The hinge 51 is provided above the opening of the front lid 5B so that the ground beans do not adhere thereto. The front lid 5B is fixed from the hinge portion 52 via a lid support member 5C formed in an inverted “H” shape.

FIG. 6B shows a state in which the front cover 5B of the weighing device 5 is opened, and ground beans are supplied from the introduction portion 5A to the weighing chamber 51. When the weighing chamber 51 is filled with the ground beans, The lid 5B rotates slightly. Based on this rotation, when light is emitted from the light emitting unit 5a of the optical sensor 5D that has been shielded from light by the light detecting unit 5E and is received by the light receiving unit 5b, the power supply to the mill motor 7C is stopped and the weighing chamber is stopped. The supply of the ground beans to 51 stops. After the stop, the metering motor 59A is energized, and the drive gear 58A rotates to move the piston rod 56 forward. At the tip of the piston 56D, there is provided a projection 56a that comes into contact with the front lid 5B, and holds the front lid 5B in an open state after extruding the ground beans.

FIG. 7 shows the piston rod 56 in a state where the measuring chamber 51 is omitted from the drawing.
In the state where the projection 56a of D
Moves forward to rotate counterclockwise on the paper surface against the reaction force of the spring 55A provided coaxially with the hinge 52 as an axis. At this time, the front lid 5
B and the tip of the measuring chamber 51 are separated, and the ground beans easily fall without being caught between the front lid 5B and the measuring chamber 51.

FIG. 8 shows the ground bean canister 8,
(A) is a perspective view, and (b) is a cross section in the A direction of (a).
The ground bean canister 8 includes a lower main body 80A, a discharge port 80B for discharging the ground beans from the lower main body 80A, an upper main body 80C provided so as to be dividable from the lower main body 80A, and a lower main body 80A provided on the upper main body 80C. , An engaging claw 81 that integrally fixes the cap 83, a cap 83 that can be freely opened and closed by a hinge 82 on the upper body 80 </ b> C, a claw 84 for fixing the cap 83 in an open state, and
A gasket 85 interposed at the joint between the upper body 80C and the upper body 80C; a ground bean auger 86 provided inside the lower body 80A and rotated by an auger motor (not shown);
An agitator 89 for agitating the ground beans mounted inside the upper main body 80C, a first wheel 87 having a gear portion that comes into contact with the blade portion of the ground bean auger 86, and rotating based on the rotation of the ground bean auger 86; A pin 88A is provided on the side surface at a predetermined interval, and has a second wheel 88 that rotates by contacting the first wheel 87. The agitator 89 contacts the pin 88A when the second wheel 88 rotates. To stir the ground beans (not shown) stored in the canister.

FIG. 9 shows a cylinder unit D,
(A) shows the front side and (b) shows the back side. Cap 37
Has a sealing member 37A for sealing a gap when inserted into the cylinder 32, and is connected to the gear 36 by a rod 38. A guide plate 31 having a guide groove g having a predetermined guide pattern is fixed to a fixed portion of the rod 38. A lower portion of the guide groove g is engaged with an engagement formed outside the side wall of the cylinder 32. The projection 32A is engaged. The lower part of the piston 39 accommodated in the cylinder 32 is connected to a beverage supply pipe 30A for supplying the extracted coffee liquid to the cup. A wiper W is provided on the lower side wall of the chute 7D to separate the extraction residue (not shown) pushed up by the piston 39 from the piston 39. Drop along the inclined part S. The open / closed state of the cap 37 is detected based on sensor outputs of a top dead center sensor, a bottom dead center sensor, and a waste disposal position sensor, which are composed of optical sensors (not shown). Similarly, the position of the piston 39 is also detected based on sensor outputs of a top dead center sensor and a bottom dead center sensor including optical sensors (not shown).

[0030] The cylinder unit D, when the driving torque of the cap motor 35 is transmitted through the gear 35A to drive the gear 36 to r ₁ direction, the guide grooves g of about the fulcrum 34A based on the guide pattern r ₂ cap 37 with inclined about 30 degrees direction is inserted into the cylinder 32 is displaced in the r ₃ direction.

FIG. 10 shows the torque transmitting section 34,
(A) shows the side and (b) shows the front. The drive torque of the piston drive motor 33 is transmitted from a gear 341 attached to the rotation shaft of the piston drive motor 33 to a gear 342A, and is transmitted through a gear (not shown) provided coaxially with the gear 342A. 344A. A worm gear 344B is provided below the shaft 343. The driving torque transmitted to the gear 344A is transmitted from the worm gear 344B to the gear 345A of the shaft 345 disposed in a direction orthogonal to the shaft 343, and transmitted to the gear 345B provided coaxially with the gear 345A. Gear 345
The driving torque transmitted to B is transmitted from the gear 346A of the shaft 346 to the gear 346B, transmitted to the gear 347A meshing with the gear 346A, and transmitted to the gear 347B provided coaxially with the gear 347A. Piston 39
A rack 348 is attached to the lower part of the rack 348. Gears 346B and 347B mesh with both surfaces of the rack 348. The gears 346B and 347B sandwich the rack portion 348, and receive the driving torque according to the rotation direction of the piston drive motor 33 and rotate in opposite directions to move the piston 39 up and down in the cylinder 32.

Worm gear 344 provided on shaft 343
B prevents the piston 39 from being lowered by the external force when an external force in the direction of lowering the piston 39 is applied.

The piston 39 has a piston head 39A having a predetermined pressure resistance, a piston base 39B fixed to the rack portion 348 by a screw 39C and fixed to the piston head 39A, and a cylinder 32 attached to the piston head 39A. A delivery section 39D for delivering the coffee liquid from the inside to the beverage supply pipe 30A, and a piston head 39
The piston head 39A has an O-ring 39E mounted on the outer periphery of the piston head 39A and a filter 39F formed of a thin corrosion-resistant metal plate and mounted on the piston head 39A.
A and the piston base 39B are locked so as to have a predetermined clearance in a state where no pressure acts on the piston head 39A.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the cylinder unit D is inclined. When the cap motor 35 is driven from the upright state to rotate the gear 36, the cylinder unit D
Incline counterclockwise around 4A. The cap 37 is lowered and inserted into the cylinder 32 in synchronization with the tilting operation. Although not shown in the figure, a predetermined amount of ground beans previously measured is supplied to the cylinder 32 via the chute 7D before tilting.

FIG. 12 shows a current detection circuit 74 for detecting a current supplied to the piston drive motor 33, and (a)
Shows a circuit diagram, and (b) shows a relationship between a detected current value and a compressive load applied to the piston 39. Power line (DC24V) 7
1 is connected to a motor drive circuit 70 for controlling the rotation of the piston drive motor 33, and has signal terminals A and B for inputting an energization signal from a control unit (described later). The piston drive motor 33 is fixed to the ground potential via a detection resistor 72 and connected to a current detection circuit 74 via an A / D converter 73. The energizing signal input to the signal terminal A of the motor drive circuit 70 is H, and the energizing signal input to the signal terminal B is L
, The piston drive motor 33 rotates in the forward direction, and when the energization signal input to the signal terminal A is L and the energization signal input to the signal terminal B is H, the piston drive motor 3
3 rotates in the reverse direction, the piston drive motor 33 stops when the energization signal input to the signal terminals A and B is L, and stops when the energization signal input to the signal terminals A and B is H. The brakes are applied. Piston 3 by compressing ground beans
When the load on 9 increases, the current supplied to the piston drive motor 33 increases as shown in (b).

In the extractor 30 of the present embodiment, when a current of 0.5 A is detected by the current detection circuit 74, the compression load applied to the piston 39 is 12.5 kgf, and 2 A
Is detected, the compression load applied to the piston 39 is 50 kgf. In general, if the compressed amount of the ground beans is large, the interval between the ground bean particles is small, the hot water passing speed is small, and a strong coffee liquid is extracted, and if the compressed amount is small, the ground beans are small. The distance between the particles is increased, the passing speed of the hot water is increased, and a thin coffee liquid is extracted. By controlling the energization of the piston drive motor 33 based on the relationship between the current value and the compression load, the compression amount of the ground beans corresponding to the coffee liquid to be sold is set.

FIG. 13 shows the energization characteristics of the piston drive motor 33. The current value in the initial stage of energization from the stop state of the motor to the start of rotation is large. The corresponding current value is shown. The current rise characteristics of such motors differ from motor to motor,
This hinders detection of a current change according to the load applied to the piston 39. For example, thereby avoiding the current rise characteristics of initial energizing by starting the measurement of the ground tamping (before extraction compression) beans when a current value after Δt seconds the start of the energization time t ₁ is. In the present embodiment, the same measurement is performed at the time of energization of packing (compression during extraction) and pushing up of slag with Δt set to 0.1 second. In addition, since the amount of energization increases due to the sliding resistance between the O-ring 39E mounted on the piston 39 and the cylinder 32, the current detection circuit 74 outputs a current value obtained by subtracting the current value corresponding to the sliding resistance to the control unit 100. I do.

FIGS. 14A to 14H schematically show the extraction operation of the extractor 30. FIG. In the following operation, a case where a coffee liquid for a blended coffee is extracted will be described.

FIG. 14 (a) shows a process of supplying the ground beans, in which the cylinder unit D is upright, and the ground beans supplied from the measuring device 5 are supplied to the cylinder 32 via the chute 7D.
To supply.

FIG. 14 (b) shows a first state of the extraction preparation step. After the ground beans are supplied to the cylinder 32, the cap motor 35 is energized to drive the gear 36 in the direction of the arrow, and the cylinder unit D is turned on. It is rotated counterclockwise about the fulcrum 34A.

FIG. 14C shows a second state of the extraction preparation step, in which the cap 37 is lowered and inserted into the cylinder 32 in synchronization with the inclination of the cylinder unit D, and the driving of the cap motor 35 is stopped. . At this time, the gear 36 stops at a position rotated by 180 degrees from the state shown in FIG.

FIG. 14D shows a first state of the extraction step. When the cap 37 is inserted into the cylinder 32, the piston drive motor 33 is energized to raise the piston 39 in the direction of the arrow to grind. Tamping the beans.
At this time, the pressure adjusting solenoid valve 90 is closed, so that the liquid in the beverage supply pipe 30A does not flow toward the cup 9 during tamping. As the compression of the ground beans progresses, the load on the piston 39 increases, so that the current value of the piston drive motor 33 increases. When the current value reaches a predetermined value, the piston drive motor 33 is braked, and thereafter, the energization is stopped to stop the piston 39, thereby bringing the ground beans into a desired compressed state. After compression, hot water is supplied into the cylinder 32 via the pipe 6A.

Since the pressure adjusting solenoid valve 90 is closed even after the supply of hot water is started, the operation of extracting the ground beans is performed in a state where the pressure in the cylinder 32 is increased to a predetermined pressure. And
When the pressure in the pipe 6A reaches a predetermined pressure, the pressure adjusting solenoid valve 9
0 is opened and high-pressure coffee liquid is in cup 9 (not shown)
It is poured into. When pressure is applied to the piston 39 during the extraction of the ground beans, the piston head 39A moves in the pressure acting direction, and based on this movement, the O-ring 39E provided between the piston head 39A and the piston base 39B is elastically deformed and the piston 3
9 and cylinder 32 by pressing.
Airtightness is maintained.

FIG. 14 (e) shows a second state of the extraction step. After the pipe 6A is opened to the atmosphere and the atmospheric pressure is reached, the piston drive motor 33 is driven to move the piston 39 to the cylinder 3 position.
2. Raise in 2 and pack the extraction slag containing the coffee liquor. By opening the pressure adjusting electromagnetic valve 90 provided in the beverage supply pipe 30A during the packing, the squeezed coffee liquid is sent out to the beverage supply pipe 30A.

FIG. 14 (f) shows a suction step of sucking air into the cylinder 32, in which the piston drive motor 33 is driven in reverse to lower the piston 39. This piston 39
The coffee liquid staying in the beverage supply pipe 30A is sucked into the cylinder 32 and absorbed by the extraction scum due to the lowering operation of. At this time, the hot water staying in the pipe 6A due to the negative pressure in the cylinder 32 is also sucked.

FIG. 14 (g) shows a step of preparing for disposal of the extracted slag, in which the cap motor 35 is driven to change the gear 36 to (c).
The cap 37 is separated from the cylinder 32 by rotating the cap 37 by 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow from the state shown in FIG. After separation,
By raising the piston 39, the extraction residue remaining in the cylinder 32 is pushed up and stopped.

FIG. 14 (h) shows a process of discarding the extracted residue C. The cylinder motor D is driven by driving the cap motor 35 to further rotate the gear 36 by 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow.
Rotates and stops in an upright state. During this rotation, the extraction residue C pushed up by the piston 39 is scraped off by the wiper W provided on the lower side wall of the chute 7D, falls as indicated by the arrow, and enters a residue bucket (not shown).

FIG. 15 shows a timing chart when the blended coffee is sold by the above-mentioned cup-type vending machine. In the figure, the top dead center sensor of the cap 37,
Bottom dead center sensor, slag disposal position sensor, and piston 39
Output of top dead center sensor and bottom dead center sensor is ON when receiving light
(H) and OFF (L) when the light is shielded.

When the buyer inserts a coin, a control signal is output from the sales control unit (not shown) to the control unit 100 to open the extraction hot water valve 22, and the pump 60 is driven at a low speed to connect the pipe 6A. A small amount of hot water is delivered. At this time, the pump 60 is driven at a low speed so as to send out hot water of a pumping amount without pushing and opening the check valve 21 provided in the pipe 6A. Thereby, the hot water staying in the pipe 6A is sent to the pipe 6B by pressure and returned to the hot water tank 10, and at the same time, the pipe 6A is heated with high-temperature hot water of about 90 to 95 ° C supplied from the hot water tank 10.

When the heating of the pipe 6A is completed, the pump 60 is stopped, and after a certain period of time, the extraction hot water valve 22 is closed. The reason for delaying the timing of closing the extraction hot water valve 22 is that when the extraction hot water valve 22 is closed at the same time as the pump is stopped or before the pump 60 is stopped, the pressure in the pipe 6A increases, and the check valve 21 is pushed and opened. This is to prevent hot water from being supplied to the extractor 30 and being absorbed by the ground beans in the cylinder 32.

In addition to driving the pump 60 at a low speed, for example, the piping resistance of the piping 6B including the extraction hot water valve 22 is reduced by the piping 6A.
A pipe line is formed so as to be smaller than the pipe resistance of the pump 6.
The extraction hot water valve 22 may be opened at the start of the zero drive.

Here, if the purchaser presses the selection button of the blended coffee containing sugar and cream after the pump 60 is stopped and before the extraction hot water valve 22 is closed,
A sales signal is output to control unit 100. Control unit 100
Starts the selling operation by closing the extraction hot water valve 22 based on the input of the selling signal.

When the purchaser presses the selection button of the blended coffee containing sugar and cream after the extraction hot-water valve 22 is closed, a sales signal is output to the control unit 100 and the control unit 1
00 outputs an energization signal to the power supply of the metering motor 59A. The metering motor 59A is rotated based on the energization signal, and the ground beans having an average particle diameter of 500 μm stored in the metering chamber 51 are pushed out by the piston 56D and the chute 7D is driven.
Is supplied to the cylinder 32 of the extractor 30 via the The piston 56D is retracted by an amount corresponding to the volume (bulk) to measure the ground beans to be used at the next sale with the foremost portion as a reference position (origin of measurement). This movement amount is set by counting the pulses output from the weighing encoder 59B and stopping the rotation of the weighing motor 59A when a predetermined count value is reached.

After supplying the ground beans, the cap motor 35 is driven to tilt the cylinder unit D of the extractor 30 to the extraction position. The pressure regulating solenoid valve 90 is synchronized with this inclination.
Is closed and the hot water valve 24 is opened, then the cap 37 is inserted into the cylinder 32. This allows the optical sensor 3
6C is turned ON, and the control unit 100
To drive the piston drive motor 33. The piston 39 is driven by the piston drive motor 33 to rise in the cylinder 32 to tamping the ground beans. The current value of the piston drive motor 33 at the time of this tamping is detected by a current detection circuit 74, and when a predetermined current value corresponding to the coffee liquid to be sold is detected, the piston drive motor 33 is braked, and thereafter, the energization is stopped. I do.

Further, the ground bean supply unit 7 includes a bean storage container 7A.
Is ground in a coffee mill 7B so as to have an average particle size of 500 μm, and is supplied to the measuring device 5 as ground beans used in an extraction operation at the time of the next sale.

After the tamping of the ground beans, the hot water valve 23A of the pipe 15A connected to the hot water tank 10 is opened to supply hot water to the mixing bowl 14, and the sugar supplied from the sugar container 11 is dissolved in the hot water. In the case of blended coffee, the amount of hot water that dissolves sugar is about 95 ml. Similarly, pipe 15B
The hot water valve 23B is opened to supply hot water to the mixing bowl 14, and the cream raw material supplied from the cream container 12A is dissolved in the hot water.

Subsequently, the pump 60 is driven to about 90 to 9
Hot water heated to 5 ° C. is supplied to the cylinder 32 at a pressure of about 8 atm and a pumping rate of 10 ml per second. At this time, since the pressure adjusting electromagnetic valve 90 provided in the beverage supply pipe 30A is closed, the ground beans in the cylinder 32 are exposed to hot water pressurized to a predetermined pressure. As a result, a coffee liquid in which coffee components are sufficiently eluted from the initial stage of extraction is extracted.
After the start of the extraction, when a predetermined pressure value is detected by the pressure sensor 25, about 40 ml of the coffee liquid is poured into the cup 9 via the beverage supply pipe 30A by opening the pressure adjusting solenoid valve 90. The controller 100 stops driving the pump 60 when the flow signal input from the flow sensor 19 reaches a predetermined value. The coffee liquid poured into the cup 9 is supplied with hot water in which sugar is dissolved from a mixing bowl 14 of a sugar supply system, and further supplied with hot water in which cream is dissolved from a mixing bowl 14 of a cream supply system and mixed. You. By mixing the hot water in which the sugar and the cream are dissolved, a coffee beverage having a dilution ratio corresponding to the sales amount (about 150 ml) is produced.

If the buyer selects a blended coffee without sugar and cream, the piping 15B
From the mixing bowl 14 of the sugar supply system to about 95
Only ml of dilution water is poured into cup 9.

After the pump 60 is stopped, a predetermined time (0.5
Second), the hot water valve 24 is opened, and the piston drive motor 3
3 is driven to further raise the piston 39. The extraction slag is packed based on the upward movement of the piston 39. By this packing, the coffee liquid contained in the ground beans is squeezed and flows out to the beverage supply pipe 30A to form a compacted extraction scum. Subsequently, the hot water valve 24 is closed, and the piston drive motor 33 is driven in reverse to rotate the piston 3
9 is lowered. As a result, the coffee liquid staying in the beverage supply pipe 30A is sucked into the cylinder 32. The sucked coffee liquid is absorbed by the extraction residue.

The discarded waste was compacted by packing by driving the cap motor 35 to separate the cap 37 from the cylinder 32 and then driving the piston drive motor 33 to rotate forward to raise the piston 39. The extracted residue is pushed upward to be exposed from the top of the cylinder 32, and in this state, the cap motor 35 is driven to rotate the cylinder unit D to the upright position. During this rotation, the extracted residue comes into contact with the wiper W provided on the lower side wall of the chute 7D and is removed from the cylinder unit D.
After the removal of the extracted slag, the vending operation is completed by driving the piston drive motor 33 in the reverse direction to lower the piston 39.

FIG. 16 (a) shows a display on the display 105 based on the selling operation described above. After the extraction operation is completed, the extraction state is displayed on a graph having an extraction time (X-axis) and an extraction pressure (Y-axis). The corresponding dot A is displayed. According to the dot A shown in the figure, the extraction time is about 10 seconds, the extraction pressure is about 8 kg / cm ² , and the extraction range is within the appropriate range 105a, and the right side of the graph indicates the extraction state (here, “texture”). 105A, an extraction time display 105B, and an extraction pressure display 105C are displayed. For example, the appropriate range 105
The part a may be displayed in green so that it can be easily identified.

FIG. 16 (b) shows the display on the display 105 when it is out of the proper range.
According to the above, the extraction time is about 17 seconds and the extraction pressure is about 7
kg / cm ² , which is within the range of unsuitable C. On the right side of the graph, an extraction state display (here, “foot C”) 105A is displayed.
Extraction time display 105B, extraction pressure display 105C, increase / decrease display of the amount of ground bean used (here, “Kona-ryo”) 105D,
And the particle size display of the ground beans (here, “Konaarasa”) 105
E is displayed. When the dot B is displayed in the inappropriate range as described above, for example, the dot B may be displayed in red so that it is easy to identify that the dot B is outside the appropriate range.

"Konaarasa" includes "Arak" which means to make the ground beans coarse, and "Komakaku" which means to make the ground beans fine.
Is displayed, and “+” indicating that the amount of the ground beans is increased and “−” that is indicating the raw materials of the ground beans are displayed in “KONARA”. In the case of the unsuitable C, the grain size of the ground bean is not adjusted, so that "Konaarasa" has no display and "-" is displayed in "Kona Ryo" so as to reduce the used amount of the ground bean.

According to the cup-type vending machine described above, the extraction time and the extraction pressure based on the extraction operation are displayed on the display, so that even a person who is unfamiliar with the operation of the vending machine can determine whether the filtration resistance at the time of extraction is appropriate. Inappropriateness can be easily grasped. In addition, when the filtration resistance is inappropriate, the display of increase / decrease in the amount of ground beans used and the display of the particle size of the ground beans are displayed as information for setting to an appropriate range, so that the extraction conditions can be easily changed. Can be.

FIG. 16C shows another configuration of the display unit for displaying the extracted state. For example, according to the extracted state, for example, six LEDs 106 illuminated two by two are arranged in a straight line. When the extraction is good and the filtration resistance is appropriate, the six lamps are turned on. When the extraction is poor and the filtration resistance is inappropriate, the above-mentioned unsuitable states (unsuitable A to C) are used. You may make it blink the number of LED which blinked. This makes it possible to simply display the extraction state.
In the display 105 using the liquid crystal display unit, an LED can be formed as a display on the screen, and the extraction state can be simply displayed based on the lighting display or the blinking display of the LED.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the particle size and the amount of the ground bean are varied based on the extraction pressure and the extraction time has been described. However, in this embodiment, the relief valve 60B (the operating pressure is 10 kg / cm ^2). 6) with pump
0 is used, and the supply pressure of hot water is adjusted to a predetermined pressure (5 to 8 k
g / cm ² ). From this,
When a certain amount of coffee liquid is extracted, a converted value of the extraction pressure can be obtained from the flow rate data detected by the flow rate sensor 19 for the flow rate of the hot water pumped through the pipe 6A. For example, the flow rate at the time of extraction is detected by a flow rate sensor 19 that has a windmill that rotates based on hot water pumping and that outputs a pulse proportional to the flow rate. In this case, since the filtration resistance is inversely proportional to the flow rate, the extraction pressure is converted by obtaining the reciprocal of the output pulse.

FIG. 17 shows that the amount of coffee liquid extracted was 50 ml.
The relationship between the extraction pressure conversion value (hereinafter referred to as the conversion value) and the extraction time is shown, and the extraction state is classified into appropriate, semi-appropriate, and unsuitable from the relationship between the conversion value and the extraction time. Are classified as unsuitable A to unsuitable C based on the size of the ground beans and the amount of the ground beans used. Appropriate ranges are an extraction time of 8 to 10 seconds and an extraction amount of 40 to 60 ml. The description of unsuitable A to unsuitable C is the same as the content described with reference to FIG.

According to the above configuration, when the supply pressure of hot water is maintained at a predetermined pressure, the extraction pressure can be converted based on the flow rate data of the hot water being pumped through the pipe, so that the pressure at which the cost of parts is large is increased. Sensors can be eliminated, resulting in lower equipment costs.

In the above-described embodiment, the operation in the case of producing hot coffee with a cup-type vending machine has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to equipment such as a coffee maker.

[0070]

As described above, according to the cup-type vending machine of the present invention, the appropriateness or inappropriateness of the extraction operation based on the filtration resistance at the time of extracting the ground beans is detected, so that the coffee extraction time is reduced. It is easy to know whether the filtration resistance is appropriate or inappropriate. When the filtration resistance is inappropriate, the filtration resistance can be set appropriately without skill.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is an explanatory view showing a cup-type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a control block of the cup-type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between extraction time and extraction pressure.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a coffee mill of the cup-type vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a pump mounted on the cup-type vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a measuring instrument according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram of a front portion (closed state) of the measuring device, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram of a front portion (open state) of the measuring device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the measuring device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

8A is a perspective view of a ground bean canister according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 9A is a front view of the extractor according to the embodiment of the present invention in which a part is cut away, and FIG. 9B is a rear view of the extractor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10A is a side view of a torque transmitting unit according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10B is a front view of the torque transmitting unit according to the embodiment of the present invention with a part cut away;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an extractor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a current detection circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12B is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between a compressive load and a current value of a motor.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing energization characteristics of a piston drive motor.

FIGS. 14A to 14H are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the extractor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a timing chart of the cup-type vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 (a) is an explanatory view showing a first display display of the cup-type vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 (b) is a cup-type vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. (C) is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration of the display unit for displaying the extraction state.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between extraction pressure (converted value) and extraction time.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Intake pipe 1A Intake valve 2 Systan 2A Float switch 3A Piping 4A Rotating shaft 5 Meter 5A Introducing part 5B Front lid 5C Lid support member 5D Optical sensor 5E Light detecting part 5a Light emitting part 5b Light receiving part 6A piping 6B piping 6C piping 7 Supply unit 7A Bean storage container 7B Coffee mill 7C Mill motor 7D Chute 7a Rotating shaft 7b Wire 7d Lid 8 Bean canister 9 Cup 10 Hot water tank 10A Power supply unit 10B Float switch 10D Hot water sensor 11 Sugar container 12A Cream container 12B Cream container 13 Chute Mixing bowl 14A Supply pipe 15A Pipe 15B Pipe 17 Sack bucket 18 Drain bucket 19 Flow rate sensor 20 Solenoid valve 21 Check valve 22 Extraction hot water valve 23A Hot water valve 23B Hot water valve 24 Hot water valve 25 Pressure sensor 30 Extractor 30A Drinking Supply pipe 31 Guide plate 32 Cylinder 32A Engagement projection 33 Piston drive motor 34 Torque transmission part 34A Support point 35 Cap motor 35A Gear 36 Gear 36C Optical sensor 37 Cap 37A Seal member 38 Rod 39 Piston 39A Piston head 39B Piston base 39C Screw 39D Delivery Part 39F Filter 39E Ring 75E Bean discharge part 40 Slide guide 50A Projection part 51 Measurement chamber 52 Hinge part 55A Spring 56 Piston rod 56A Rack part 56B Spring part 56D Piston 56a Projection part 57 Optical sensor 58 Drive shaft 58A Drive gear 59 Torque transmission part 59A Metering motor 59B Metering encoder 60 Pump 60A Bypass pipe 60B Relief valve 60D Gear 60E Gear 60F Rotary shaft 60G Pump drive motor 70 Motor drive circuit 72 Detecting resistor 73 Converter 74 Current detection circuit 75 Main body 75A Fixed blade 75B Coffee bean guiding section 75C Bean introduction section 75D Screw section 76 Crush blade 76A Key 77 Bearing 78 Crush blade adjustment member 78A Screw section 78B Gear part 79 Seal member 80A Lower body 80B Discharge port 80C Upper body 81 Engagement claw 82 Hinge 83 Cap 84 Claw 85 Gasket 86 Bean auger 87 Wheel 88 Wheel 88A Pin 89 Agitator 90 Pressure adjusting solenoid valve 100 Control unit 102 Memory 103 Timer 104 Input unit 105 Display 105A Extraction state display 105B Extraction time display 105C Extraction pressure display 105D Increase / decrease display 105E Particle size display 105a Appropriate range 106 Detector 107 Valve driver 108 Motor drive unit 341 gear 342A gear 343 shaft 344A gear 344B worm gear 345 shaft 345A gear 345B gear 346 shaft 346A gear 346A gear 346B gear 346B gear 347A gear 347B gear 348 rack section

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G07F 13/00 G07F 13/00 C (72) Inventor Hiroshi Yamamoto 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Uehara 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Prefecture Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yukichi Mizuno 2 Keihan-hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka 5-5-5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3E044 AA01 CC10 EB01 EB05 3E047 AA02 AA03 DB03 EC01 GA01 HA08

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A coffee bean is ground to a predetermined particle size and ground beans are supplied to an extractor, and predetermined high-temperature hot water pressurized by a pump is supplied to the extractor from a hot water tank via a pipe. A cup-type vending machine for producing a coffee beverage, comprising: a cup-type vending machine having an extraction state detecting means for detecting a proper or inappropriate extraction operation based on a filtration resistance when extracting the ground beans. . 2. The extraction state detection means includes: a pressure detection unit that detects an extraction pressure at the time of extracting the ground beans; a measurement unit that measures an extraction time at the time of extraction of the ground beans; A display for displaying the extraction result of the ground bean based on the extraction time, and when the extraction result of the ground bean is in an appropriate range, an appropriate display is displayed on the display, and the extraction result of the ground bean is in an inappropriate range. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: control means for displaying an improper display on the display when it is in the first position.
The cup-type vending machine described in the item. 3. The pressure detection unit according to claim 2, wherein a conversion value obtained by converting flow rate data of the hot water supplied to the extractor at a predetermined supply pressure is detected as the extraction pressure. The cup-type vending machine described in the item. 4. The control means sets the extraction pressure on the display as a first coordinate axis and sets the extraction time on a second coordinate axis.
Displaying the dots based on the extraction result of the ground beans in the two-dimensional coordinates displayed as the coordinate axes, and, when the extraction result is appropriate, displaying the appropriate display, the extraction time, and the extraction pressure, 3. The cup-type vending machine according to claim 2, wherein when the extraction result is incorrect, the correction information of the grain size of the ground beans is displayed in addition to the incorrect display, the extraction time, and the extraction pressure. . 5. The display according to claim 2, wherein the display is formed by arranging a plurality of LEDs in a straight line, and lighting a number of LEDs according to the extraction result in a predetermined lighting pattern or a blinking pattern. Cup vending machine.