JP2003242561A - Lid mounting apparatus of cup type vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lid mounting apparatus of a cup type vending machine in which a lid separated from a sequence of lids of a plurality of stacked lids can be set in a predetermined position so as to properly mount the lid on a cup. <P>SOLUTION: The lid mounting apparatus 2 of the cup type vending machine for mounting the lid on the cup containing drink at sale comprises: a lid accommodating device 22 for accommodating the lid sequence of a plurality of lids L stacked mutually in the up-and-down direction; a lid separator 172 for separating the lowest lid L from the lid sequence accommodated in the lid accommodating device 22; an opening 96a of a lid transfer arm 82 to which the lid L is set so as to be mounted to a cup C, being arranged in a predetermined position of a lower part of the lid accommodating device 22; and a lid delivery mechanism 174 for setting delivering the lid L separated by the lid separator 172 to be set to the opening 96a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided inside a cup-type vending machine for pouring beverages such as coffee and juice into a cup for sale, and stores the beverage before it is provided to the purchaser. Lid automatically on the cup
The present invention relates to a lid mounting device for a cup-type vending machine that mounts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a lid mounting device of this type,
It is known that the opening at the upper end of a beverage cup is sealed with a film-shaped resin sheet (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-212058).
001-229451). This lid mounting device is a sheet setting mechanism that sets a long resin sheet wound in a roll shape in a state where it is pulled out to a sealing position on the cup transport path, and a beverage-filled cup that has reached the sealing position. It is equipped with a cup elevating mechanism that elevates and lowers the lower side of the sheet-making sheet, and a sealing mechanism that thermocompresses and seals the resin sheet on the edge portion of the opening of the cup while sandwiching the resin sheet from above and below the edge portion of the opening of the cup. There is.

By sealing the opening of the cup containing the beverage with such a lid mounting device, for example, when the purchaser carries the cup beverage or when the cup is accidentally laid down on a table or the like. However, the beverage in the cup will not spill. However, in the cup drink with the lid as described above, once the resin sheet is peeled from the opening of the cup, the cup cannot be capped again with the resin sheet. For this reason, if you accidentally knock down the drinking cup, the beverage will spill, and if you want to leave it as it is for a while, if you leave the cup as it is, dust will get inside the cup. When the beverage in the cup is a hot beverage, the beverage may have already cooled when trying to drink again. For these reasons, it has been desired to develop a lid mounting device capable of mounting a removable lid on a cup containing a beverage.

[0004]

In such a lid mounting apparatus, for example, a lid container for accommodating a lid row in which a large number of lids are stacked on top of each other, or a lid row in the lid container should be mounted. A lid separating device for separating only the lid, and a mechanism for mounting the separated lid on the cup at the lid mounting position in a proper posture are required. Then, in order to mount the lid on the cup in an appropriate posture, it is necessary to set the lid separated from the lid row at a predetermined setting position as a pre-stage. However, since the lid that is detachably attached is generally lower in height and lighter than the cup, if the lid is separated from the lid row above the set position and simply dropped, the drop position of the lid is dropped. Is easily displaced from the set position. In this way, if the lid is attached to the cup while it is displaced from the set position, the attachment may not be properly performed. There is also a problem that the posture of the lid tends to be disturbed when it falls.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a lid separated from a lid row in which a plurality of lids are stacked can be set at a predetermined position. An object of the present invention is to provide a lid mounting device for a cup-type vending machine that can properly mount the lid on the cup.

[0006]

A lid mounting device for a cup-type vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention is a lid mounting device for a cup-type vending machine for mounting a lid on a cup containing a beverage at the time of sale. There is a lid storage device that stores a lid row in which a plurality of lids are vertically stacked on top of each other, a lid separation means that separates the lowest lid from the lid row stored in this lid storage device, and a lower portion of the lid storage device. And a lid delivery unit for delivering and setting the lid set section for placing the lid for mounting on the cup, and the lid set section for delivering and setting the lid separated by the lid separating section. It is characterized by

According to this structure, the lowermost lid separated from the lid row stored in the lid container by the lid separating means is attached to the cup by the lid delivering means so that the lid container can be stored in the lid container. It is delivered and set to a lid set portion arranged at a predetermined lower position. In this way, the lid separated from the lid row,
Since it is delivered to the lid set portion via the lid delivery means, the lid can be properly set in the lid set portion as compared with the case where the lid is simply dropped after being separated. As a result, it is possible to properly attach the lid to the cup that follows.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the lid mounting device for a cup type vending machine according to the first aspect, the lid delivery means is arranged between the lid container and the lid set portion, and is arranged vertically. It is characterized in that it is provided with a lid guide member having a lid passage that extends and tapers toward the lid set portion.

According to this structure, the lid separated from the lid row falls through the above-mentioned lid passage of the lid guide member and is delivered to the lid set portion. In other words, even if the lid separated from the lid row is displaced with respect to the lid set part at the time of separation,
By dropping in the lid passage, the fall position is corrected and delivered to the lid set section. In this way, the lid guide member having the above-described simple structure can set the lid at an appropriate position.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the lid mounting device of the cup type vending machine, the lid set portion has an opening that penetrates in the vertical direction and has an opening that allows the lid to be locked from below. A lid delivery member that is provided so as to be vertically movable between an upper portion and a lower portion and that can support the lid from below, a drive mechanism that drives the lid delivery member to move up and down, and a lid delivery member before the lid separating means separates the lid. And a control means for controlling the drive mechanism so as to lower the lid delivery member below the opening after the lid delivery member supports the lid. To do.

According to this structure, when the lid is set in the lid setting section, the drive mechanism is controlled by the control means so that the lid delivery member operates as follows. That is, first, before the lid separating means separates the lid, the lid delivery member passes through the opening of the lid set portion and rises above it. Then, the lowest lid is separated from the lid row and dropped by the lid separating means, and is supported by the lid delivery member. After that, the lid delivery member descends toward the lower side of the opening while supporting the lid. Then, the lid is locked in the opening and set while the lid delivery member is descending.
In this way, the lid delivery member is moved up and down while passing through the opening of the lid set section where the lid should be set, and the lid delivery member supports the lid from below and sets the lid in the opening, so that the lid set is stabilized. And can be done properly.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the lid mounting device of the cup type vending machine according to the third aspect, the lid delivery means includes a lid posture control means for controlling a posture of the lid supported by the lid delivery member, It is further characterized by being provided.

According to this structure, since the attitude of the lid supported by the lid delivery member is controlled by the lid attitude control means, for example, when the lid is supported in a disordered attitude, the lid attitude control means , The lid can be controlled to have an appropriate posture. Therefore, the lid whose orientation is disturbed is corrected to a proper posture, and the lid having the corrected proper posture can be properly set in the opening of the lid setting portion while the lid delivery member supports the lid.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the lid mounting device of the cup-type vending machine according to the fourth aspect, the drive mechanism is
The motor includes a motor, a pinion that is rotationally driven by the motor, and a rack that is provided on the lid transfer member and that extends in the up-down direction and engages with the pinion. And a pinion, the motor control means for controlling the motor to continue rotating even after being disengaged, and the biasing means for urging the lid transfer member downward when the rack and the pinion are disengaged. , Are included.

According to this structure, the pinion is rotationally driven by the motor, whereby the rack engaged with the pinion moves in the vertical direction, and the lid delivery member moves up and down accordingly. In this case, the rack is moved upward by the drive of the motor, and even after the engagement between the rack and the pinion is disengaged, the motor is controlled to continue to rotate, so that the lid delivery member vibrates in the vertical direction, Controls the attitude of the lid that you supported. That is, when the rack and the pinion are disengaged from each other, the lid delivery member is urged downward by the urging means, so that the lid delivery member is driven upward against the urging means, and the lowest rack position is reached. At the moment when the teeth of the lid are disengaged from the pinion, the return of the biasing means causes the lid delivery member to slightly descend to the position where the rack is re-engaged with the pinion. By repeating the engagement and disengagement of the rack and the pinion as described above, the lid delivery member vibrates vertically so as to generate an impact that pushes up the supported lid, and the posture of the lid is controlled by this vibration. In this way, by using the drive mechanism of the lid delivery member, the posture of the supported lid can be easily controlled while vibrating the lid delivery member.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a cup-type vending machine incorporating a lid mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 5 show the internal structure thereof. This vending machine 1 sells a drink such as coffee or juice by pouring it into a cup for sale. A lid mounting device 2 mounts a detachable lid L on a cup C containing the beverage and a lid is attached. The cup drink D can be provided to the purchaser.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vending machine 1 is provided with a vertically long box-shaped vending machine body 3 having an opened front surface, and a main door 4 for opening and closing the front surface of the vending machine body 3. At the center of the main door 4, a product take-out section 5 is provided for the purchaser to take out the cup beverage D, which is a product. The product take-out section 5 has a depth dimension to some extent, and has a horizontal stage 5a that slightly projects forward from the upper half of the main door 4. At the center of the stage 5a, there is provided a sales opening 5b through which the cup beverage D rises at the time of sale. This sales outlet 5b is
It is closed at all times and is opened when the cup beverage D comes out on the stage 5a at the time of sale. The lower part of the stage 5a is designed to have a semi-elliptical shape in the front, and is designed to be slightly projected to the front of other parts of the main door 4.

Although not shown, the main door 4 of the vending machine 1 is provided with a product selection button, a cash slot, a change return slot, etc., as in a general cup type vending machine. ing. In addition to these, the main door 4 is also provided with a lid mounting button for the purchaser to select whether or not the lid L is mounted on the cup beverage. Therefore, for example, the vending machine 1 is configured so that the lid L is not mounted in normal sale, and the lid L is mounted only when the lid mounting button is pressed at the time of purchase.
If is set, the purchaser who does not need the lid L can purchase the cup beverage in the same manner as a general cup-type vending machine, while the purchaser who needs the lid L,
By pressing the lid mounting button at the time of purchase, the cupped drink D with a lid can be obtained.

Furthermore, the main door 4 has a display portion (not shown) for informing the purchaser whether the lid L of the provided cupped beverage D with a lid D is properly attached to the cup C. ) Is provided. When the lid proper mounting detection unit, which will be described later, detects that the lid L is not properly mounted, this display unit displays a message to that effect.
As a result, the purchaser can be alerted to the handling of the cup beverage D with a lid. Instead of or in addition to the display unit, a voice warning may be issued.

As shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the lid mounting device 2 described above, a large number of cups C are housed in the vending machine body 3, and at the time of sale, the cups C are dropped one by one so that a cup supply position described later can be obtained. Cup dispenser 6 to supply to
A plurality of (six in the present embodiment) canisters 7 in which various raw materials are respectively stored are built in. The cup dispenser 6 is formed in a cylindrical shape and stores a plurality of rows of a large number of cups C vertically stacked on top of each other, and a cup container 6a at the time of sale, which is the lowest cup of the cup row according to the selected product. It has a cup dropper 6b that separates C from the other cups above it and drops it.

On the other hand, each canister 7 contains different powder or granular raw materials such as coffee, black tea, cocoa, juice and other raw materials, and the raw materials according to the selected product at the time of sale. Is discharged to the mixing bowl 8 through the raw material chute 7a by a predetermined amount. The raw material discharged into the mixing bowl 8 is agitated with hot water or water, and the mixed liquid is mixed with the beverage tube 9 and the beverage nozzle 10 at the tip thereof.
(See FIG. 5), and is supplied to the cup C that has been transported to the beverage supply position described later.

Next, the lid mounting device 2 will be described in detail. The lid mounting device 2 includes a lid stocker 11 that stores a large number of lids L that are vertically stacked.
And one lid L from the lid stocker 11 at the time of sale
The lid L is pressed from above by the lid take-out / transfer device 12 for taking out the cup C and for moving it to a predetermined position, the cup carrying device 13 for carrying the cup C in the front-back direction and the vertical direction, and the cup carrying device 13. The lid pressing device 14 fitted into the cup C and a control device (control means, motor control device) (not shown) having a microcomputer for controlling them are provided.

The lid L and the cup C used in this embodiment are formed, for example, as shown in FIG. Specifically, the lid L is made of thin plastic, has a circular plan shape and has a certain height, and has an open lower surface, as shown in FIG. A recess 16 having a diameter substantially the same as that of the lower end of the cup C is formed on the upper portion of the lid L. Thereby, it is possible to fit the lower end portion of the cup of another cup beverage into the concave portion 16 of the cup beverage D with a lid,
By doing so, when carrying a plurality of cup beverages, they can be stacked on top of each other and carried.
Further, on the side portion of the lid L, an outwardly protruding fitting portion 17 that fits into a curl portion 18 of the cup C described later is formed. The diameter of the fitting portion 17 is equal to the curl portion 1 of the cup C.
Since the diameter of the lid L is slightly smaller than the diameter of the cup 8, the lid L can be firmly attached to the opening of the upper end of the cup C by snap fitting, and in the attached state, the lid L does not easily come off.

On the other hand, the cup C is a general paper cup, and the peripheral edge portion of the opening at the upper end portion is formed into a curl shape (curl portion 18). Then, as described above, by fitting the fitting portion 17 of the lid L into the curl portion 18, the lid L is firmly attached to the cup C. This prevents the beverage from spilling out of the cup C even when the cup C containing the beverage is tilted or tilted. As shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6A, an opening 19 may be formed on the upper surface of the lid L. In this case, the opening 19 serves as a drinking mouth or a straw insertion opening. Can be used.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lid stocker 11 includes a vertically long stocker frame 21 and a lid storage device that extends vertically and is rotatably supported by the stocker frame 21 about a vertical axis. 22
And a stocker drive mechanism 23 and the like which is attached to the upper part of the stocker frame 21 and rotates the lid container 22 by a predetermined angle.

The stocker frame 21 has a frame main body 21a extending in the vertical direction, and a base plate 24 and a support plate 25 horizontally extending forward are provided at the lower end and the upper end of the frame main body 21a, respectively. . As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, at a predetermined position of the base plate 24, a lid take-out hole 24a that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the lid L is formed. On the other hand, on the support plate 25, via the mounting bracket 25a,
A stocker drive mechanism 23 is attached. And
The lid container 22 is rotatably supported between the base plate 24 and the support plate 25.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the lid container 22 has three cylindrical storage drums 26 extending in the vertical direction, and each of the storage drums 26 is vertically stacked. A large number of lids (lid rows) in a state are stored. Further, these storage drums 26 are arranged symmetrically with respect to each other about a rotary shaft 22a extending in the vertical direction. Each of the storage drums 26 is formed in a honeycomb shape whose planar shape is one size larger than the outer diameter of the lid L.
A half portion on the opposite side of 2a is opened and closed by an opening / closing door 27. The opening / closing door 27 is vertically divided into two parts, and a magnet 28 is attached to each door contact side. Therefore, by attaching and detaching the magnet 28 of each opening / closing door 27 to / from the attraction plate 29 at a position corresponding to the magnet 28, the opening / closing door 27 can be easily opened / closed when replenishing the lid row to each storage drum 26. .
The opening / closing door 27 has a plurality of vertically elongated slits 27.
Therefore, when the main door 4 is opened, the opening / closing door 27 is not opened and the storage drum 2 is formed.
The remaining amount of the lid L in 6 can be easily visually recognized from the outside.

A gear 22b is fixed to the upper end of the rotary shaft 22a of the lid housing 22.
The lid storage device 22 is rotated by a predetermined angle by rotating the 2b by the stocker drive mechanism 23. The stocker drive mechanism 23 includes a motor 31 and a gear box 3
Drive shaft 3 which is rotationally driven by a motor 31 via 2
3 and so on. The drive shaft 33 is provided at its lower end with a gear portion 34 that meshes with the gear 22b of the lid housing 22, while at the upper end thereof the lid housing 22.
A disc-shaped control plate 35 is provided for controlling the rotation angle of the. A stocker sensor 36, which is an optical sensor, is arranged near the control plate 35. The stocker sensor 36 detects the position of a slit 35a formed at a predetermined position of the control plate 35. Based on the detection result, the operation of the motor 31 is controlled, so that the lid container 22 is rotated by a predetermined angle.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion where the lid stocker 11 is omitted from the lid mounting apparatus 2 shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 11 shows a part of its top view. As shown in these figures and FIG. 9, below the lid stocker 11, more specifically, below the lid taking-out hole 24a of the base plate 24, the lowest lid L of the lid row is arranged. A lid separator 41 for detaching from the upper lid is attached. In the following description, the lowest lid L and the lid L immediately above it in the lid row will be referred to as "mounting lid L" as appropriate.
1 ”and“ next mounting lid L2 ”.

As shown in FIG. 12, the lid separator 4
Reference numeral 1 denotes a case 43 having a ring-shaped planar shape, which has a lid support hole 42 that is substantially the same size as the lid take-out hole 24a and is located concentrically with the lid take-out hole 24a.
Is placed in the case 43 so as to face the mounting lid L1.
(Six in this embodiment) lid cams 44 for supporting and separating the same, and all of these lid cams 4
4, a ring gear 45 for synchronously rotating the ring gear 45 by a predetermined angle, a separator motor 46 for rotating the ring gear 45 by a predetermined angle, and two ring gear sensors 47, 47 for detecting the rotational position of the ring gear 45.
And so on.

The case 43 is constructed by vertically assembling an upper case 43a and a lower case 43b which are vertically symmetrical with each other. Each of the upper and lower cases 43a and 43b is provided with a lid cam 44 which is rotatable about a vertical axis. It is supported. Each lid cam 44 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), a pair of convex portions 44b and 44b horizontally projecting in opposite directions with a rotary shaft 44a extending in the vertical direction in between are provided in upper and lower two stages. The same figure (a)
As shown in, the pair of protrusions 44b of each lid cam 44,
When 44b is oriented in the radial direction of the lid support hole 42 of the case 43, the inner convex portion 44b supports the lower peripheral edge portion of the mounting lid L1 from below. Also,
A gear portion 44 c that meshes with the ring gear 45 is provided at the bottom of each lid cam 44. The lower pair of protrusions 44b, 44b of each lid cam 44 are provided as a spare when the mounting lid L1 cannot be erroneously supported by the upper protrusions.

The ring gear 45 is formed to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the case 43, and has a large number of teeth formed on its inner peripheral portion, which mesh with the gear portions 44c of the six lid cams 44, respectively. Further, the ring gear 45 has a structure shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and FIG. 13, elongated holes 45a, 45b for driving and for detecting a rotational position, which extend in the radial direction, are formed at predetermined positions, respectively. One end of a crank 48 having a predetermined shape is slidably inserted in the driving elongated hole 45a, and the other end of the crank 48 is fixed to a rotary shaft 46a of a separator motor 46.

On the other hand, the rotational position detecting long hole 45b is formed at a position opposite to the driving long hole 45a of the ring gear 45, and when the ring gear 45 is at the position shown in FIG. 13 (a). , One ring gear sensor 47 (47
It is detected in A). The one ring gear sensor 47A and the other ring gear sensor 47B
Are both composed of optical sensors, and these are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other.

The lid separator 4 constructed in this way
1, the ring gear 45 and the lid cam 44 are shown in FIG.
In the state shown in (a) and FIG. 13 (a),
The convex portions 44b facing the centers of the lid support holes 42 of the six lid cams 44 support the lower surface peripheral edge portion of the mounting lid L1 from below. From this state, the separator motor 46 operates and the crank 48 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 13A by a predetermined angle (about 80 degrees), whereby the ring gear 45 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow B. Along with this, the long hole 45b for detecting the rotational position moves, and when it is detected by the other ring gear sensor 47B, the separator motor 46 stops. As a result, the ring gear 45
Rotates in the direction indicated by arrow B by a predetermined angle (about 5 degrees), while the six lid cams 44 are
As shown in FIG. 13 (b), it rotates about 90 degrees, and thereby the support of the mounting lid L1 is released.

In the state shown in FIG. 13 (b),
By rotating the crank 48 in the direction opposite to the arrow A (arrow A ') by a predetermined angle (about 80 degrees), the ring gear 4 is rotated.
5 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow B ', whereby the ring gear 45 and the lid cam 44 return to the state shown in FIG.

Further, the case 43 of the lid separator 41
Is provided with a lid presence / absence sensor 49 for detecting the presence / absence of the lid L in the lid support hole 42. The lid presence / absence sensor 49 includes a light emitting element 49a and a light receiving element 49b which are arranged at a distance from each other and are horizontally opposed to each other.
It consists of an optical sensor consisting of. When the light from the light emitting element 49a is blocked by the lid L in the lid support hole 42, the lid L is present in the lid support hole 42,
The lid separator 41 is controlled by the control device (not shown).
It is determined that the storage drum 26 of the lid storage device 22 located above is not out of the lid. On the contrary, the light emitting element 49
When the light from a is received by the light receiving element 49b without being blocked, it is determined that the storage drum 26 is out of lid.

The lid stocker 1 configured as described above
1 and the lid separator 41, by selecting the cup beverage with a lid at the time of sale, the lid separator 41
The lid rows in the storage drum 26 of the lid storage device 22 located above the are sequentially separated from the lowest row and consumed. Then, at the time of sale (for example, when the last lid L is consumed in this sale), the lid presence / absence sensor 4
When it is determined that the above-mentioned storage drum 26 is out of the lid through 9, the lid storage device 22 rotates by a predetermined angle (120 degrees) in preparation for the next sale of the cup beverage with a lid, and thereby, , The storage drum 26 that has run out of lid is switched to a new storage drum 26 that stores the lid row. In this case, the lid row in the new storage drum 26 moves to the lid taking-out hole 24a of the base plate 24 while sliding on the base plate 24.

Prior to such switching of the storage drum 26, a lid take-out machine 54, which will be described later, rises to the vicinity of the lid take-out hole 24a. Specifically, the cylindrical body portion 61 of the lid take-out machine 54 is the lid separator 4
The lid supporting hole 42 of No. 1 is penetrated from below and rises up to the vicinity of the lid taking-out hole 24a (see FIG. 17). afterwards,
When the storage drums 26 are switched as described above, the lowest mounting lid L1 in the lid row in the new storage drum 26 slightly drops through the lid take-out holes 24a, and the upper end surface of the main body 61 is removed. Put it on this to cover it. After that, the lid take-out machine 54 descends, and in the middle of that, the mounting lid L1 is moved to the lid support hole 42 of the lid separator 41.
Supported within. This completes the switching of the storage drum 26.

In this way, when the storage drum 26 is switched, the mounting lid L1 is once placed on the main body portion 61 of the lid unloading machine 54 that has risen to the vicinity of the lid unloading hole 24a, and then set on the lid separator 41. Compared with the case where the mounting lid L1 is dropped from the base plate 24 through the lid take-out hole 24a and directly set on the lid separator 41, the fall distance can be made extremely short. Thereby, the lid separator 41
The lid row can be set properly and stably.

In the determination of the lid breakage of the storage drum 26, if the lid L does not exist in the lid support hole 42, it is determined that the storage drum 26 is broken, and the position of the lid presence / absence sensor 49 in the vertical direction. As appropriate
By setting the lid L in the lid support hole 42,
It may be determined that the storage drum 26 has run out of the lid when one or several of the storage drums are present. In this case, since the distance between the uppermost lid L remaining in the lid support hole 42 and the lid take-out hole 24a becomes shorter, the maximum number of lid rows in the new storage drum 26 is changed when the storage drum 26 is switched. The lower lid L is dropped as it is through the lid taking-out hole 24a, and is stacked on the remaining lid L from above. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to properly set the lid row to the lid separator 41 without operating the lid take-out machine 54.

Next, the lid take-out / transfer device 12 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the lid take-out / transfer device 12 is arranged below the lid separator 41, and the mounting lid L1 supported in the lid support hole 42 of the lid separator 41 is moved downward. Lid take-out device 51 (lid delivery means) taken out while moving, and mounting lid L taken out by this
1 is configured by a lid transfer device 52 that transfers 1 to a lid mounting position, which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the lid take-out device 51 has a lid take-out machine 54 (lid delivery member) which is vertically movable and is guided by a pair of vertically extending guide rails 53, 53. ing. The lid take-out machine 54 has a columnar main body portion 61 extending in the vertical direction.
And a base portion 62 extending from the lower part of the main body portion 61 between the guide rails 53, 53.
The front shape is substantially L-shaped by 1 and the base portion 62.

The body portion 61 is the lid separator 41.
It is located so as to be concentric with the lid support hole 42 of
The outer diameter of the main body 61 is formed to be slightly smaller than the opening 19 on the lower surface of the lid L. A lid gripping mechanism 63 is provided inside the main body 61 and the base 62, and a lid gripping plate 64, which will be described later, of the lid gripping mechanism 63 engages with the mounting lid L1 from the inside. The mounting lid L1 can be gripped. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 (a), a cover 61 a having four openings 61 b on the side wall is attached to the upper end of the main body 61 of the lid removing machine 54, and the lid gripping mechanism 63 is provided with a cover 61 a. The gripping portions 64b of each lid gripping plate 64, which will be described later, respectively have openings 61b.
It is supposed to appear from.

The lid gripping mechanism 63 is shown in FIG. 15 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, four lid gripping plates 64 having a predetermined shape, and the four lid gripping plates 64 are arranged symmetrically with respect to each other about a drive shaft 65 extending in the vertical direction, and each of them extends in the vertical direction. The grip plate holder 67, which is rotatably supported via the support pins 66, and the four grip plates 64 are arranged inside the grip plate holder 64.
A cam plate 68 of a predetermined shape that rotates each lid gripping plate 64 by rotating, and a lid gripping motor 70 that rotationally drives the cam plate 68 through the drive shaft 65 and the gear box 69 by a predetermined angle.
Etc.

The lid holding plate 64 is formed by bending a metal plate having a predetermined shape, has a certain height, has a dogleg shape in a plan view, and one end of which is a support pin 66. The arm portion 64a rotatably connected to the arm portion 64a is connected to the end portion of the arm portion 64a on the side opposite to the support pin 66, and is bent outward at a right angle to the arm portion 64a to have a rectangular planar shape. Gripping portion 64b
And have. Further, each lid gripping plate 64 is
As shown in FIGS. 15B and 16, the support pin 66
The grip portion 64b is biased inward, that is, toward the side of the cam plate 68 by the torsion coil spring 66a provided in the above, and abuts against this. The cam plate 68 has a substantially square planar shape and an outer periphery formed as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 15B, a disc-shaped control plate 71 for controlling the rotation angle of the cam plate 68 is provided at the lower end of the drive shaft 65. Further, a lid grip sensor 72, which is an optical sensor, is arranged near the control plate 71.
Thus, the position of a slit (not shown) formed at a predetermined position of the control plate 71 is detected. Based on this detection result,
By controlling the operation of the lid gripping motor 70, the cam plate 68 rotates by a predetermined angle.

As shown in FIG. 16A, when each lid gripping plate 64 is in contact with the side portion of the cam plate 68, the tip of the gripping portion 64b has the opening 61 of the cover 61a.
Located near b. On the other hand, from this state, when the cam plate 68 is rotated by about 45 degrees as shown in FIG. 16B, each lid gripping plate 64 is twisted by the torsion coil spring 6.
It is rotated by being pressed from the inside against 6a, and the grip portion 64b slightly projects outward.

In the lid gripping plate 64 which is rotationally driven in this manner, the diameter of the circle E1 when the tips of the gripping portions 64b of the lid gripping plates 64 shown in FIG. The diameter of the circle E2 shown in FIG. 16B is smaller than that of the fitting portion 17, and is substantially the same as that of the fitting portion 17 of the lid L. Therefore, when each lid gripping plate 64 is in the state shown in FIG. 2B, the tip of each gripping portion 64b engages the fitting portion 17 of the lid L from the inside to grip the lid L. Is possible. On the contrary, when each lid gripping plate 64 is in the state shown in FIG. 4A, the gripping of the lid L by each gripping portion 64 can be released. In the following description, the state of each lid gripping plate 64 shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B is referred to as the “lid release posture”.
And "lid gripping posture".

In the lid take-out machine 54 having the lid gripping mechanism 63 as described above, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15A, an elevating mechanism 73 is provided at the end (right side) of the base 62.
(Driving mechanism). The lifting mechanism 73 is a lid take-out motor 74 including a motor with an encoder.
The motor 74 has a pinion 76 which is driven to rotate about a horizontal axis through a gear box 75, and a rack 77 which extends in the vertical direction and engages with the pinion 76. A standby position sensor 78, which is an optical sensor for detecting the standby position of the lid unloader 54, is arranged near the elevating mechanism 73.

FIG. 17 shows the lid removing machine 5 with the upper end of the lid removing machine 54, that is, the upper end of the main body 61 as a reference.
4 shows the vertical position. As shown in the figure, the lid unloader 54 can be moved up and down between the standby position H1 and the upper limit position Hmax, and in addition to the standby position H1 and the upper limit position Hmax, a lid between them It is possible to stop at two positions, a grip position H2 and a temporary stop position H3.

Each of these four positions will be specifically described. First, the standby position H1 is a position before the rise of the lid unloading machine 54 is started, and the lid unloading machine 54 is located at the standby position H1 during the sales standby. In the lid gripping position H2, the upper end of the lid unloader 54 is located near the upper end of the lid separator 41, and the lid gripping mechanism 63 is located.
The lid gripping plate 64 is in the lid gripping posture so that the mounting lid L1 can be gripped. The temporary stop position H3 is a position slightly lower than the lid gripping position H2 described above, and its height is substantially the same as the height between the lower surfaces of the mounting lid L1 and the next mounting lid L2 that are stacked on each other. The lid upper limit position Hmax is almost the same height as the base plate 24 of the lid stocker 11,
When the storage drum 26 is switched as described above, the lid take-out machine 54 is raised to the lid upper limit position Hmax.

FIG. 18 shows the lid transfer device 52. As shown in the figure, the lid transfer device 52 is provided on the base plate 81 and on the upper side of the base plate 81. From the position shown in FIG. 23) to a lid mounting position (position shown in FIG. 23), and a arm drive mechanism 83 that drives the lid transfer arm 82. .

As shown in FIGS. 18 (a) and 18 (b),
At a predetermined position on the base plate 81, two rods 84 and 85 are erected to regulate the movable range of the lid transfer arm 82 when the lid transfer arm 82 abuts on the base plate 81. Specifically, the rod 84 and the rod 85 respectively position the lid transfer arm 82 at the lid receiving position and the lid mounting position. The rod 8 on the base plate 81
A receiving position switch 86 composed of a micro switch is provided in the vicinity of 4 so that the receiving position switch 86 is pushed by the lid transferring arm 82 when the lid transferring arm 82 is located at the lid receiving position. Has become.

The lid transfer arm 82 has a certain thickness and is formed in a fan shape in a plan view. The lid transfer arm 82 has a horizontally extending arm portion 91 and a ring-shaped lid holding portion 92 connected to the arm portion 91. Have

An end portion of the arm portion 91 opposite to the lid holding portion 92 is rotatably supported by a vertically extending support shaft 93 and is vertically movable along the support shaft 93. A coil spring 94 is provided on the upper side of the arm portion 91 between the upper end portion of the support shaft 93 and the bearing 93a. The coil spring 94 urges the entire lid transfer arm 82 downward. Further, a convex portion 91 a that slightly protrudes downward is provided around the support shaft 93 at the lower portion of the arm portion 91, and the arm driving cam 10 of the arm driving mechanism 83 to be described later is provided.
It meshes with 3.

On the other hand, the lid holding portion 92 has a double structure, and the ring portion 9 formed integrally with the arm portion 91.
A lid holding ring 96 for holding the lid L is provided inside the member 5. As shown in FIGS. 18A and 18C, the inner diameter of the lid retaining ring 96 is formed to be slightly larger than the maximum outer diameter of the lid L (outer diameter of the lower surface), while the outer diameter thereof is the ring portion 95. It is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of. That is, the lid holding ring 96 and the ring portion 95
A slight gap F (for example, 2 mm) is provided over the entire circumference between and, so that the lid holding ring 96 has a play in the radial direction with respect to the ring portion 95.

Further, four lid locking claws 97 for locking the lid L in the opening 96a are provided on the inner peripheral portion of the lid holding ring 96, and these are provided in the opening 9a.
6a, they are arranged at equal angles to each other along the inner circumference of the lid retaining ring 96. Each lid locking claw 97
18C, the front shape is a vertically long rectangle and the side shape is formed in a convex V shape inward, and the lid L is supported from the lower side on the convex portion. It has a locking portion 97a for locking. In addition, each lid locking claw 97 has a lid locking position at which the lid L can be locked by the locking portion 97a on the support shaft 98 provided at the upper end thereof (position shown by a solid line in FIG. 18C). And a lid releasing position (a position indicated by a chain double-dashed line in the figure) capable of releasing the locking thereof. Furthermore, each lid locking claw 97 is biased to the lid locking position by a torsion coil spring 99 provided at the upper end portion.

The arm drive mechanism 83 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the lid transfer motor 101 and the gear box 1 attached to the lower surface of the base plate 81.
It is constituted by an arm drive cam 103 and the like that is driven to rotate by a lid transfer motor 101 via 02, and thereby drives the lid transfer arm 82. The motor 101 has a through hole 8 formed in the base plate 81.
The gear box 102 is connected to the gear box 102 via a portion 1a.

The arm drive cam 103 is arranged between the base plate 81 and the lid transfer arm 82, and is rotatable concentrically with the support shaft 93 of the lid transfer arm 82. Further, the arm drive cam 103 is formed so as to be engaged with the convex portion 91a of the lid transfer arm 82 so as to be non-rotatable and engageable and disengageable in the vertical direction. When the arm driving cam 103 is rotationally driven by the motor 101 through the gear box 102 by a predetermined angle, the lid transfer arm 82 is rotated between the lid receiving position and the lid mounting position. To do. Two transfer arm sensors 104, 104, which are optical sensors, are provided near the arm drive cam 103. These sensors 104, 104 and the receiving position switch 8 are provided.
6, the position of the lid transfer arm 82 is detected.

Here, with reference to FIGS. 17 and 19 to 22, a series of taking out the mounted lid L1 from the lid separator 41 by the lid take-out device 51 and passing it to the lid transfer arm 82 of the lid transfer device 52. The operation will be described in order. In addition, before the operation of the lid take-out device 51 is started, the lid take-out machine 54 is
It is located at the standby position H1 shown by the solid line in FIG. Further, in this case, in each of the lid cams 44 of the lid separator 41, as shown in FIG. 19A, the convex portion 44b faces the radial direction of the lid support hole 42.

First, the lid take-out machine 54 is operated at the standby position H.
1 to the lid gripping position H2 (see FIG. 19).
(B)). Then, each lid gripping plate 64 of the lid gripping mechanism 63 is in the lid gripping posture, and the mounting lid L
It engages with the fitting part 17 of No. 1 from the inside (FIG. 19C).
Next, as shown in FIG. 20A, all the lid cams 44 are rotated by about 90 degrees, and the protrusions 44 of the lid cams 44 are rotated.
The support of the mounting lid L1 by b is released. afterwards,
The lid unloader 54 descends and stops at the temporary stop position H3 (FIG. 20 (b)). Then, as the lid cam 44 rotates in the opposite direction, as shown in FIG.
Returning to the original position, the convex portion 44b supports the next mounting lid L2. As a result, the mounting lid L1 is attached to the lid cam 44.
The support by is released, and the state where it can be separated from the next mounting lid L2 is possible.

Next, as shown in FIG. 21A, the lid gripping plate 64 of the lid gripping mechanism 63 returns from the lid gripping posture to the lid releasing posture, whereby the mounting lid L1 becomes the main body of the lid removing machine 54. The state is simply placed on the cover 61a of the portion 61. After that, the lid unloader 54 at the pause position H3 descends again (see FIG. 2).
1 (b)), and returns to the standby position H1. The lid unloader 54 may be slightly lowered from the temporary stop position H3, and then the lid gripping plate 64 in the lid gripping posture may be returned to the lid releasing posture. In this case, the mounting lid L
Since the lid take-out machine 54 is slightly lowered while holding 1 with the lid holding plate 64, the mounting lid L1 can be reliably separated from the next mounting lid L2.

The mounting lid L1 thus taken out from the lid separator 41 is in the middle of the downward movement of the lid take-out machine 54 from the temporary stop position H3 to the standby position H1.
As shown in order in FIGS. 22A and 22B, the lid transfer arms 82 are locked by the four lid locking claws 97.
As described above, the mounting lid L1 is transferred to the lid transfer arm 82, and the mounting lid L1 is transferred from the lid receiving position to the lid mounting position by the lid transfer arm 82, as shown in FIG.

Next, the cup carrying device 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the cup transporting device 13 transports the cup C received from the cup dispenser 6 in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 24) and the up-down direction. The drink is supplied to C, the lid L is attached to the cup C, and the cup drink D with a lid is provided to the purchaser.

The cup transfer device 13 transfers the cup C in the front-rear direction and in the up-down direction, respectively.
1 and the vertical transport device 112. The front-rear transport device 111 extends in the front-rear direction, and the front-rear transport frame 113 in which side portions of the up-down transport device 112 are slidably engaged, and the front end portion and the rear end portion of the front-rear transport frame 113 are rotatable. Front pulley 11 provided
4 and the rear pulley 115 and these pulleys 114, 1
The timing belt 116, which is wound around 15 and is connected to the side of the vertical transport device 112, the front-back transport motor 117 that is a pulse motor that rotationally drives the rear pulley 115, and the roller 1 at the lower end of the vertical transport device 112.
A guide rail 118 for guiding the vertical transport device 112 in the front-rear direction by the rotatably engaged 12a, and the vertical transport device 11
2 has two front and rear position sensors 119 and 119 for detecting whether or not they have respectively reached a beverage supply position P2 and a cup beverage supply position P4 which will be described later. The front-rear transport frame 113 and the guide rail 118 are fixed to the inner wall of the vending machine body 3, a predetermined frame 3a (see FIGS. 2 to 4), and the like.

In such a front and rear transport device 111,
When the rear pulley 115 is rotationally driven by the front-rear transport motor 117, the timing belt 116 rotates in a predetermined direction, and along with this, the vertical transport device 112 moves in the front-rear direction, and at the following four predetermined positions, specifically, Are controlled to stop at the cup supply position P1, the beverage supply position P2, the lid mounting position P3, and the cup beverage supply position P4, respectively.

First, the cup supply position P1 is a position where the cup C is supplied from the cup dispenser 6 and is a position directly below the cup dropper 6b. The beverage supply position P2 is a position where the beverage is supplied to the cup C and is a position directly below the beverage nozzle 10. Further, the lid mounting position P3 is a position where the lid L is mounted on the cup C to which the beverage is supplied, and the cup supply position P1 and the beverage supply position P2.
It is a position between and. Also, the cup beverage providing position P4
Is a position for providing a drink in a cup to a purchaser, and is a position near the front ends of the front and rear transport frames 113.

As described above, the vertical transport device 11
2 is stopped and controlled at the beverage supply position P2 and the cup beverage supply position P4 by being detected by the two front and rear position sensors 119 and 119, respectively. On the other hand, stop control of the vertical transport device 112 at the cup supply position P1 and the lid mounting position P3 is performed by the front and rear position sensors 119 and 11
The number of pulses given to the front-back conveyance motor 117 is based on the beverage supply position P2 and the cup beverage supply position P4 detected in 9.

FIG. 25 shows the internal structure of the vertical transport device 112. The vertical transport device 112 has a cup lifting mechanism 121 that lifts and lowers the cup C, and a cup holding mechanism 122 that holds the cup C by lightly gripping it from the side.

The cup elevating mechanism 121 has a cup base 123 on the upper end for mounting the cup C on the upper end, and a cup elevating arm 124 having an L-shaped side surface.
And a pair of feed screws 125, 125 for extending in parallel with each other in the vertical direction at intervals and screwed to the cup lifting arm 124 to move the cup lifting arm 124 in the vertical direction, and these feed screws. 125, 125
Is fixed to the lower ends of the pair of feed screws 125 and 125, and the drive gear 126 arranged between the lower ends of the cup, the cup lifting motor 127 that is a pulse motor that rotationally drives the drive gear 126, and the drive gear 126. Two gears 128, 128 that mesh with 126, and an elevating arm lower limit sensor 12 that detects the lower limit position of the cup elevating arm 124.
9 and 9.

The cup elevating mechanism 12 thus configured
1, the drive gear 126 is driven by the cup lifting motor 127.
When the gear is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction, the gear 1 meshes with it.
A pair of lead screws 125 each having 28 and 128,
125 rotate in the same direction as each other. Then, the cup elevating arm 124 screwed to the feed screws 125, 125 moves in the vertical direction, and the cup C placed on the cup base 123 of the cup elevating arm 124 moves up and down accordingly.

The control of the ascending / descending position of the cup ascending / descending arm 124 is given to the cup ascending / descending motor 127 based on the lower limit position (position shown in FIG. 25 (b)) detected by the ascending / descending arm lower limit sensor 129. It is performed by the number of pulses. Further, the control of the lifting speed of the cup lifting arm 124 is performed by controlling the rotation speed of the cup lifting motor 127.

On the other hand, the cup holding mechanism 122 includes a cup hand frame 131 provided near the upper ends of the feed screws 125 and 125, and the cup hand frame 131.
A pair of support shafts 132, 132 having end portions fixed to each other and spaced from each other and extending horizontally and in parallel, and slidably supported by the pair of support shafts 132, 132, and the cup C from the left and right. Cup hand 133 that holds it so that it is pinched
And a cup hand motor 134 with an encoder, which is attached to the cup hand frame 131 and drives the cup hand 133.

The cup hand 133 has a plane shape of approximately L.
It has two left and right hands 135, 135 which are formed in a letter shape and are arranged so as to face each other. These two
Racks 135a, which are formed to extend in parallel with each other along the support shaft 132, are formed at the base ends (left ends in FIG. 25A) of the two hands 135, 135, respectively.
It has 135a. And these racks 135
The a and 135a are engaged with the pinion 136 which is rotationally driven by the cup hand motor 134. In addition, the tips of the two hands 135, 135 (see FIG.
Arc holders 135b, 135b facing each other are provided at the right end of (a).

The cup holding mechanism 12 configured as described above
In 2, the pinion 1 is driven by the cup hand motor 134.
When 36 is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction by a predetermined number of rotations, hands 135, 135 having racks 135a, 135a engaged with the pinion 136 approach each other. Then, the cup C placed on the cup stand 123 is
Holders 135b of the hands 135, 135,
At 135b, lightly grip it from both sides. When the pinion 136 is rotationally driven in the opposite direction,
The hands 135, 135 are separated from each other, whereby the cup C is released.

Next, the lid pressing device 14 will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the lid pressing device 14 is the cup C by the cup transport device 13.
The lid L is pressed against the lid C from above while the lid L is relatively pushed from above, and is fitted into the cup C more than the lid holding portion 92 when the lid transfer arm 82 is rotated to the lid mounting position. It is located slightly above. The lid pressing device 14 is attached to the motor 141, a drive shaft 143 that extends in the up-down direction and is rotationally driven by the motor 141 via the gear box 142, and the lower end of the drive shaft 143. It has a rotation pressing body 144 that presses the lid L while rotating with rotation.

The rotary pressing body 144 is rotatable around three horizontal axes extending radially at equal angles.
Roller 145 and a roller holder 146 that is circular in plan view and rotatably supports each roller 145.
And a power transmission plate 147 that is provided above the roller holder 146 in a state of being fixed to the drive shaft 143 and has a downward U-shape for transmitting the rotation of the drive shaft 143 to the roller holder 146. ing.

The roller holder 146 is slightly movable in the vertical direction along the drive shaft 143.
Is attached to. Further, as shown in FIGS. 26B and 26C, a pair of grooves 148, 148 spaced apart from each other and extending in parallel are formed in the upper portion of the roller holder 146. These grooves 148, A lower portion of the power transmission plate 147 is loosely inserted in 148. Further, on the upper part of the roller holder 146, a pair of spring insertion holes 1 whose upper surface is opened is formed.
49, 149 are provided for these spring insertion holes 1
The compression springs 150 and 150 are inserted in 49 and 149, respectively. The upper ends of the compression springs 150, 150 are in contact with the lower surface of the power transmission plate 147. Therefore, the compression springs 150, 150 urge the roller holder 146 holding the three rollers 145 downward. ing.

The outer peripheral edge of the upper portion of the roller holder 146 is formed so as to project upward, and a roller sensor 151, which is an optical sensor, is provided in the vicinity of the projecting projection 146a. This roller sensor 15
1 detects the raised position of the roller holder 146 to detect whether or not the roller 145 has risen by a predetermined distance (for example, 2 to 3 mm).

Next, regarding the operation at the time of sale of the vending machine 1 having the lid mounting device 2 configured as described above,
The attachment of the lid L to the cup C will be mainly described. In addition,
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the vertical transport device 112 of the cup transport device 13 is in the cup supply position P1 during standby for sale.
And the cup base 123 is located at the lower limit position. Further, the lid take-out machine 54 of the lid take-out / transfer apparatus 12 is located at the standby position H1, while the lid transfer arm 82 is located at the lid receiving position.

At the time of sale, when the purchaser puts money into the vending machine 1 and presses a desired product selection button and a lid mounting button, first, the lowest cup C is separated from the cup dispenser 6, It falls on the cup stand 123 of the transfer device 13 (vertical transfer device 112). Then, the cup C is lightly grasped from the left and right by the cup hand 133 of the cup holding mechanism 122.
Further, at the same time when the cup C is supplied to the vertical transport device 112, the beverage selected by the purchaser is cooked in the mixing bowl 8.

Next, as shown in FIG. 24, the vertical conveying device 112 for holding the cup C is arranged at the rear side of the beverage supply position P.
Move to 2. Then, the beverage in the mixing bowl 8 is poured into the cup C via the beverage tube 9 and the beverage nozzle 10. After the completion of the beverage supply to the cup C, the vertical transport device 112 moves to the front lid mounting position P3. Further, as described above, before the cup C is transported from the cup dispenser 6 to the lid mounting position P3,
Lid stocker 1 by lid take-out / transfer device 12
From 1, the lowest lid L (mounting lid L1) is transferred to the lid mounting position.

That is, as described above with reference to FIGS. 19 to 23, the lid take-out machine 5 of the lid take-out device 51 is used.
4 once rises from the standby position H1 to the lid gripping position H2, and then the lid gripping mechanism 63 of the lid removing machine 54,
And the lid separator 41 operates, and the mounting lid L1
Is separated from the next mounting lid L2. After that, the lid unloader 54 descends from the temporary stop position H3 to the standby position H1, and the mounting lid L1 is locked in the lid holding ring 96 of the lid transfer arm 82 by the lid locking claw 97 in the middle thereof. . Then, the lid transfer arm 82 rotates from the lid receiving position to the lid mounting position, whereby the mounting lid L1 is located above the lid mounting position, more specifically, above the cup C transported to the lid mounting position P3. And is transferred to the lower side of the roller 145 of the lid pressing device 14 (see FIG. 27A).

Here, referring to FIGS. 27 and 28,
The mounting of the mounting lid L1 on the cup C at the lid mounting position will be described in order. First, the cup elevating arm 124 of the vertical transport device 112 located at the lid mounting position P3 rises, and the cup C placed on the cup base 123 at the lower limit position shown in FIG. 27A is placed on the mounting lid L1 from below. Abut (see FIG. 27 (b)). Then, as the cup elevating arm 124 further rises, the cup C lifts the mounting lid L1 and the upper end of the mounting lid L1 reaches the vicinity of the roller 145 of the rotary pressing body 144 (first predetermined height). In the rising section up to this point, the cup lifting arm 12
4 rises at a high speed (for example, 50 mm / s). afterwards,
The rising speed of the cup lifting arm 124 is low (for example, 5 m
m / s), the cup elevating arm 124 slowly further rises, and the mounting lid L1 comes into contact with the three rollers 145 of the rotating rotary pressing body 144 from below.

On the other hand, in the lid pressing device 14 above the mounting lid L1, the rotary pressing body 14 is started slightly before the timing at which the rising speed of the cup lifting arm 124 is switched.
4 is a predetermined rotation speed around the vertical axis (for example, 2 in 3 seconds)
Rotate) to rotate.

Even after the mounting lid L1 contacts the roller 145, the cup elevating arm 124 slowly further rises. As a result, the mounting lid L1 is attached to the lower cup C.
Thus, the roller 145 of the upper rotary pressing body 144 is gradually and strongly pressed. And this mounting lid L1
Is properly and firmly attached to the cup C by snap fitting (see FIGS. 27 (c) and 6 (c)).

As described above, the mounting lid L1 is properly and firmly mounted to the cup C mainly by the play of the lid holding ring 96 in the lid transfer arm 82, the rising speed of the cup lifting arm, and the rotational pressing. Due to rotation of body 144. For example, as shown in FIG. 29 (a), when the center of the opening at the upper end of the cup C and the center of the opening at the lower end of the mounting lid L1 are displaced by about several mm, the cup C is mounted on the mounting lid. When it abuts against L1 from below, the mounting lid L1 may be slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal upper surface of the cup C, as shown in FIG.

However, in the lid mounting apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the lid holding ring 96 of the lid transfer arm 82 holding the mounting lid L1 slightly moves in the horizontal plane due to the play, and the lid mounting ring L1 is mounted on the mounting lid L1. The abutting cup C slowly rises, and further, the rotary pressing body 14
The rotation of 4 causes the three rollers 145 to smoothly press the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the mounting lid L1. Therefore,
Even when the centers of the openings of the mounting lid L1 and the cup C are deviated from each other, the mounting lid L1 is mounted on the cup C while aligning the centers thereof as described above. It can be properly and firmly attached to the cup C.

As described above, the mounting lid L1 is mounted on the cup C, and as shown in FIG. 27 (c), the roller holder 146 of the rotary pressing body 144 causes the compression springs 150, 1
When the roller sensor 151 detects that the cup 50 has risen by a predetermined height (for example, 2 to 3 mm) against 50, the rise of the cup elevating arm 124 is stopped. Thereafter, conversely, the cup elevating arm 124 descends, and when the rotary pressing body 144 returns to the original height, as shown in FIG. 28A, the cup elevating arm 124 stops descending.

As shown in FIG. 28 (a), when the cup elevating arm 124 descends in this state, the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the mounting lid L1 is locked by the lid locking claw 97 of the lid transfer arm 82. In addition, the cup C with the lid attached may be suspended. Therefore, in order to unlock the mounting lid L1 by the lid locking claw 97,
As shown in FIG. 28B, the lid transfer arm 82 is slightly raised.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 23 and 30 (a), the lid transfer arm 82 located at the lid mounting position is moved to the lid receiving position (the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 23 (a)). The arm drive mechanism 83 is operated for a short time so as to rotate in the opposite direction. In this case, the lid transfer arm 82 contacts the rod 85 and cannot rotate beyond it. However, when the arm drive cam 103 of the arm drive mechanism 83 rotates by a predetermined angle, the lid drive arm 8 engaged with the arm drive cam 103 is moved.
The meshing with the second convex portion 91a is disengaged, and the arm driving cam 103 lifts the lid transfer arm 82 against the coil spring 94 by the meshing height. This allows
The lid transfer arm 82 rises by the same height G as the height at which it engages with the arm drive cam 103.

In this case, the cup C with the lid attached
Of the lid L1 is in contact with the rotary pressing body 144, so that the lid L1 moves down relative to the lifted lid transfer arm 82. Then, each lid locking claw 97 of the lid transfer arm 82 is pressed by the lid L1 against the torsion coil spring 99, and rotates from the lid locking position to the outer lid releasing position. As a result, the locking of the lid L1 of the lid-mounted cup C is released.

After that, the cup lifting arm 1 which has been stopped
24 descends and stops at the lower limit position as shown in FIG. 28 (c). As described above, the mounting of the mounting lid L1 on the cup C is completed. When the cup elevating arm 124 reaches the lower limit position, the lid transfer arm 82 at the lid mounting position returns to the lid receiving position in preparation for the next sale.

After the lid L is mounted on the cup C as described above, the vertical transport device 11 at the lid mounting position P3.
As shown in FIG. 31, 2 moves to the front cup beverage providing position P4. Then, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in the figure, the cup elevating arm 124 rises to lift the lidded cup beverage D to the stage 5 a of the product take-out section 5. As a result, the sale of the cupped beverage D with a lid ends. It should be noted that when the cupped beverage D with a lid is taken out by the purchaser from the product taking-out section 5, the cup elevating arm 124, which has been raised, is lowered to the lower limit position, and the vertical conveying device 112 is moved.
Returns to the cup supply position P1 in preparation for the next sale.

Next, referring to FIG. 32, in the lidded cup beverage D to which the lid L is attached as described above, a lid for detecting whether the lid L is properly attached to the cup C or not. The proper mounting detector will be described. This lid proper attachment detecting unit is, for example, the light emitting element 16
Infrared displacement sensor 16 having 1 and light receiving element 162
Equipped with 3. The light emitting element 161 of the infrared displacement sensor 163 is provided, for example, at the upper end of the vertical transport device 112, while the light receiving element 162 is provided so as to be horizontally opposed to the light emitting element 161 with the cup stand 123 interposed therebetween. ing. The elements 161 and 162 are arranged so that the infrared ray R has a predetermined height. That is, the infrared beverage R is placed at a position S, which is slightly higher than the height to the upper end of the lid L when the lidded cup beverage D with the lid L properly attached to the cup C is placed on the cup base 123 at the lower limit position. Light emitting element 161
And the light receiving element 162 is arranged.

Therefore, when the infrared ray R is cut off by the infrared displacement sensor 163 when the cup base 123 is lowered to the lower limit position after the lid L is attached to the cup C, the lid L is moved to the upper end of the cup C. It is determined that the cup C is not properly mounted because it is inclined with respect to the horizontal opening of the portion. When the lid L is not properly attached to the cup C, the fact is displayed on the display portion of the main door 4. Thereby, the purchaser can know that the lid L of the provided cupped beverage D with a lid is not sufficiently attached.

Further, as the lid proper attachment detecting section, the cup stand 123 of the cup lifting arm 124 is constructed so as to rotate about the vertical axis, and the cup stand 123 is detected when the lid L is detected by the infrared displacement sensor 163. The motor 123 may be rotated by a predetermined angle by a motor (not shown). In this case, by rotating the cup base 123 by at least 180 degrees, it is ensured that the upper end of the lid L exceeds the height S from the cup base 123 regardless of which direction the lid L is inclined. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably determine whether or not the lid L is properly attached to the cup C.

Furthermore, in addition to detecting whether or not the lid L of the cupped beverage D with a lid is properly attached as described above, when the lid L is not properly attached to the cup C, the lid L is again attached. May be attached to the cup C. In this case, an appropriate lid removing device (not shown) for removing the lid L that is improperly mounted is provided from the cup beverage D with a lid, and for the cup C from which the lid L has been removed by the lid removing device, New lid L
Are mounted again in the same manner as the series of mounting operations described above. That is, when the lid L is not properly attached at one time, the lid L is attached again. This allows
Cup drink D with a lid properly fitted with a lid L,
It can be provided more reliably.

Next, with reference to FIG. 33, setting of the high-speed rising section of the cup lifting arm 124 will be described. This setting is performed automatically, for example, at the time of initial setting when the power of the vending machine 1 is turned on, at the end of maintenance of the lid mounting device 2, or by an operator operating a predetermined button or the like. Be seen.

In this setting, first, the vertical transport device 112 moves to the lid mounting position P3 (see FIG. 24). Then
The cup elevating arm 124 at the lower limit position rises. Then, the cup base 123 abuts on the roller 145 of the upper rotary pressing body 144, and the cup elevating arm 124 further rises slightly, so that the roller holder 146 moves the cup base 123.
Can be pushed up with. When this is detected by the roller sensor 151, the cup lifting arm 124 stops rising,
Lower to the lower limit position.

In this way, the cup lifting arm 124 is
By moving up and down at the lid mounting position P3, based on the pulse number of the cup lifting motor 127 at that time,
The distance W from the cup base 123 at the lower limit position to the roller 145 of the rotary pressing body 144 is obtained. In addition to this distance W, the height X of the cup beverage D with a lid when the lid L is properly attached to the cup C, and the cup lifting arm 12 when the lid L is brought into contact with the roller 145
Based on the distance Z at which 4 should be slowly raised, the high-speed rising section Y (= W- (X + Z)) of the cup lifting arm 124 is calculated by the control device (not shown). That is, the height at which the cup elevating arm 124 should be switched from the high speed rising to the low speed rising (hereinafter referred to as “speed switching height”) is required.

This speed switching height is determined by the lid mounting position P.
3, the cup elevating arm 124 and the rotation pressing body 144
It is required properly while absorbing the manufacturing variation of the mutual distance with and the change due to use or maintenance.
Therefore, when the lid L is attached to the cup C, by controlling the ascending speed of the cup elevating arm 124 according to the speed switching height, that is, at the speed switching height from the lower limit position to a high speed (for example, 50 mm / s). ), And after reaching the speed switching height, lower speed (for example, 5 mm
/ S) to raise the lid L to the cup C
Can be mounted more reliably.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 34 to 40, a modification of the lid take-out / transfer apparatus including the lid separator will be described. In the lid take-out / transfer device 171 of the present modification, the lid transfer device is the same as the lid transfer device 52 of the lid take-out / transfer device 12 described above. To do.

As shown in FIG. 34, this lid removal /
The transfer device 171 is disposed between the lid separator 172 (lid separating means) attached to the lower side of the lid stocker 11 and the lid separator 172 and the lid transfer arm 82 of the lid transfer device 52. A lid chute 17 for guiding the lid L separated by the lower lid transfer arm 82.
3 (lid guide member) and a lid delivery mechanism 174 (lid delivery means) for delivering the lid L dropped into the lid chute 173 to the lid transfer arm 82 at the lid receiving position.

Unlike the lid separator 41 described above, the lid separator 172 of this modification is capable of independently separating the lowest lid L (mounting lid L1) from the lid row. In the following description of the lid separator 172, the same components as those of the lid separator 41 will be designated by the same reference numerals, and the lid separator 4 will be described.
The description will focus on the parts different from 1.

As shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, this lid separator 172 has a case 43 having a lid supporting hole 42 penetrating in the vertical direction, and a case 43 arranged inside the case 43 so as to face the lid supporting hole 42. 4 lid cams
4, a ring gear 45 for synchronously rotating them by a predetermined angle, a separator motor 46 composed of a pulse motor for rotating the ring gear 45 by a predetermined angle, and a rotary shaft 46 a of the separator motor 46. Drive gear 1 that engages with the outer peripheral portion of the ring gear 45
81 and a standby position switch 182 composed of a micro switch for detecting whether or not the ring gear 45 has returned to a standby position described later.

Each lid cam 44 has a structure shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), it has a pair of arc-shaped convex portions 44b, 44b that project horizontally and stepwise in opposite directions with a rotating shaft 44a extending in the vertical direction in between. A gear portion 44c is provided below each lid cam 44 and meshes with the ring gear 45. In the ring gear 45, a large number of teeth are formed on the entire inner peripheral portion so as to mesh with the gear portions 44c of the six lid cams 44, while the drive gear 181 is formed on a predetermined portion of the outer peripheral portion.
A gear portion 183 that meshes with the gear is formed. Further, on the outer peripheral portion of the ring gear 45, an outwardly projecting convex portion 184 is formed in the vicinity of the gear portion 183.
In step 4, the standby switch 182 is turned on / off.

Here, with respect to the separation of the mounting lid L1 from the lid row by the lid separator 172, FIG.
A brief description will be given with reference to FIG. Ring gear 4
5 and the lid cam 44 are in the standby position shown in FIG. 36 (a), the lower convex portion 44b of each lid cam 44 is provided.
As shown in FIG. 37 (a), it faces the center of the lid support hole 42, and the lower convex portion 44b is attached to the mounting lid L.
The lid row is supported by supporting the lower surface peripheral portion of 1 from below. From this state, the separator motor 46 operates and the drive gear 181 rotates in a predetermined direction, so that the ring gear 45 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 36 by a predetermined angle (about 20 degrees). The rotation angle of the ring gear 45 in this case is controlled by the number of pulses applied to the separator motor 46.

As described above, as the ring gear 45 rotates a predetermined angle, each lid cam 44 rotates about 180 degrees. Then, the respective lid cams 44 are arranged as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the support of the mounting lid L1 is released, and the upper convex portion 44b supports the next mounting lid L2. As a result, only the mounting lid L1 is separated from the lid row and drops.

As described above, the mounting lid L1
After being disconnected, the ring gear 45 rotates in the opposite direction, that is, in the counterclockwise direction, and stops when the convex portion 184 of the ring gear 45 pushes the standby position switch 182. As a result, the ring gear 45 and the lid cam 44 return to the standby position shown in FIGS. 36 (a) and 37 (a).

As shown in FIGS. 34 and 38, the lid chute 173 is formed in a mortar shape, and has a lid passage 185 that extends vertically and is tapered downward inside thereof. .. The diameter of the upper end of the lid passage 185 is larger than the diameter of the lid support hole 42 of the lid separator 172 (for example, the radius is about 10 mm).
On the other hand, the diameter of the lower end of the lid passage 185 is slightly larger than the maximum outer diameter of the lid L, like the inner diameter (opening 96a) of the lid holding ring 96 of the lid transfer arm 82.

As described above, the lid separator 172
Is attached to a lid stocker 11, and the lid stocker 11 is rotated around the vertical axis for supplementing raw materials and maintenance to the canister 7 (see FIGS. 2 to 4) arranged on the back side thereof. While moving, you can swing it forward. As described above, the lid separator 172 and the lid transfer device 52 are separate from each other in terms of the configuration. Therefore, when the lid stocker 11 is in the normal position, the center of the lid support hole 42 of the lid separator 172 and the lid receiving position. Opening 96 of lid transfer arm 82
The center of a tends to shift. However, by disposing the lid chute 173 as described above between the lid separator 172 and the lid transfer arm 82, the lid chute 173 is separated by the lid separator 172 while absorbing the deviation of the centers of the lid support hole 42 and the opening 96a. The mounted lid L1 can be guided to the lid transfer arm 82 at the lid receiving position.

The lid delivery mechanism 174 includes a lid delivery member 191 which is movable in the vertical direction, and an elevating mechanism 192 (driving mechanism) which drives the lid delivery member 191 up and down.
And have. The lid transfer member 191 has a disk-shaped lid support portion 193, and a rack portion 194 having a rack 194a extending downward from the center of the lower surface of the lid support portion 193 by a predetermined length and extending vertically on the side surface.
And have. The rack portion 194 is slidably engaged with a vertically extending guide rail 195, whereby the lid delivery member 191 is guided by the guide rail 195.
You can go up and down while being guided by. Also,
A side surface of the rack portion 194 opposite to the rack 194a is opened, and a coil spring 196 (biasing means) is attached to a lower end portion thereof. This coil spring 196
Has its lower end fixed to the rack 194 and its upper end free. On the other hand, the lid support portion 193
Has a circular planar shape, and its diameter is smaller than that of the lower surface opening of the lid L and larger than that of the bottom surface of the recess 16. In addition, at a predetermined position on the peripheral portion of the lid support portion 193, the lid delivery member 191 is in a standby position (positions shown in FIGS. 38 (a), 39 (a), and (c)).
Is provided with a hanging detection piece 193a for detecting whether or not it is located at the standby position sensor 197 including an optical sensor.

On the other hand, the elevating mechanism 192 is a lid delivery motor 201 (motor) and a pinion engaged with the rack 194a of the lid delivery member 191 by being driven to rotate about a horizontal axis by the motor 201 via a gear box 202. And 203. A spring stopper 204 for abutting and compressing the coil spring 196 is attached to the gear box 202.

Now, referring to FIGS. 39 and 40,
The lid transfer arm 8 by the lid delivery mechanism 174
The operation of delivering the lid L to the second unit 2, that is, the setting of the lid L in the opening 96a of the lid transfer arm 82 will be described in order. First, in the state shown in FIG. 39 (a),
The operation of the lid delivery motor 201 causes the pinion 203 to rotate clockwise in FIG. Then,
The lid transfer member 191 at the standby position is raised, and its lid support portion 193 penetrates the opening 96a of the lid transfer arm 82 from below as shown in FIG. Reach near. In this case, the rack portion 19 of the lid delivery member 191
4, the teeth at the lower end of the rack 194a are pinion 2
03, and the upper end of the coil spring 196 contacts the spring stopper 204.

Then, by the lid separator 172,
The lowest mounting lid L1 is separated from the lid row and falls into the lid passage 185 of the lid chute 173. In this case, the mounting lid L1 which has been separated and dropped is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9 (b), the lid supporting member 193 is covered with the lid supporting portion 193 and dropped onto the lid supporting portion 193.
Besides being properly supported in a horizontal posture, the posture of the mounting lid L1 may be disturbed, for example, as shown in FIG. In other words, the mounting lid L1 may extend and incline between the lid support portion 193 of the lid delivery member 191 and the inner surface of the lid chute 173. Therefore, in the lid delivery mechanism 174,
The mounting lid L1 is corrected to a horizontal posture as follows.

That is, after the mounting lid L1 is separated by the lid separator 172, the lid delivery motor 201 is operated again to rotate the pinion 203 in the same direction as described above. Thereby, the lid delivery member 19
1 is a coil stopper 196 at the lower end of the spring stopper 2
This coil spring 196 is pressed against 04 from below.
Driven upward against. Then, as shown in FIG. 40B, the rack 194 a of the lid delivery member 191.
The lowermost tooth of the lid is pushed up by the pinion 203, and at the moment when the tooth comes off the pinion 203, the lid transfer member 1
91 is urged downward by the compressed coil spring 196, and the lowest tooth of the rack 194a again meshes with the pinion 203, as shown in FIG. Such a rack 194a and a pinion 2 of the lid delivery member 191
Engagement with 03 is repeated for a predetermined time (for example, several seconds). As a result, the lid delivery member 191 vibrates so as to generate an impact that pushes up the mounting lid L1, and this vibration corrects the inclined mounting lid L1 to a horizontal posture (FIG. 39 (b)). 40 (c)
reference).

After that, the pinion 203 rotates in the opposite direction to the above, and the lid delivery member 191 descends to the original standby position. Then, in the middle of this descent, the mounting lid L1
39C is set in the opening 96a of the lid transfer arm 82 while being locked by the lid locking claw 97, as shown in FIG.

As described above in detail, according to the lid mounting apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the detachable lid L is automatically mounted on the cup C containing the beverage before it is provided to the purchaser. The purchaser can easily and safely carry the cup beverage D without spilling it, and even with a plurality of cup beverages. Even if the cupped beverage D with a lid is accidentally laid down on a table or the like, the beverage does not spill from the cup C, so the table is not soiled.
Furthermore, since the purchaser can easily attach the lid L once removed from the cup C again, by keeping the lid on the drinking cup C, the beverage can be kept hygienic. If the beverage is a hot beverage, it can also be difficult to cool.

Further, according to the modification 171 of the lid taking-out / transporting apparatus, the mounting lid L1 separated from the lid row by the lid separator 172 is guided downward through the lid chute 173, and the lid delivery member 191 is provided. Lifting and lowering the lid transfer arm 8
It can be stably set in the second opening 96a. Moreover, the mounting lid L dropped into the lid chute 173.
Even when 1 is supported by the lid delivery member 191 in an inclined posture, the mounting lid L1 can be corrected to an appropriate posture by vibrating the lid delivery member 191. Therefore, the mounting lid L1 can be corrected. L1 can be set in the opening 96a in a stable and proper posture. As a result, the proper mounting of the mounting lid L1 on the subsequent cup C can be performed more reliably.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented in various modes. For example, in the embodiment, by vibrating the lid transfer member 191 to control the mounting lid L1 supported thereby by the proper posture, the posture of the mounting lid L1 is controlled by using another suitable posture control device. You may do it. Further, the detailed configuration of the lid mounting device 2 shown in the embodiment is merely an example, and can be appropriately changed within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0122]

As described in detail above, the lid mounting device of the cup type vending machine of the present invention can set the lid separated from the lid row in which a plurality of lids are stacked at a predetermined position. Thus, there is an effect that the lid can be properly attached to the cup.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cup-type vending machine including a lid mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the cup type vending machine of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the inside of a cup-type vending machine in which a cup dispenser is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the inside of a cup-type vending machine in which a cup dispenser is omitted.

FIG. 5 is a right side view showing the inside of a cup-type vending machine in which a lid stocker and a lid take-out / transfer device are omitted.

6A and 6B are views showing a lid and a cup, where FIG. 6A is a top view of the lid, FIG. 6B is a side view of the lid with a part cut, and FIG. 6C is a side view of the cup.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an upper end portion of a lid stocker in which a stocker frame is omitted.

FIG. 8 is a top view showing a lid stocker in which a support plate on an upper part of a stocker frame is omitted.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the periphery of the base plate of the lid stocker.

10 is an enlarged front view showing a portion of the lid mounting apparatus shown in FIG. 4 from which a lid stocker is omitted.

11 shows a part of the top view of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a lid separator, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a lid cam.

13A and 13B are views for explaining the operation of the lid cam of the lid separator, FIG. 13A shows a state when each lid cam locks the lid, and FIG. 13B shows a state when the lid is separated.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a lid removing device of the lid removing / transferring device.

15A is a front view showing the lid take-out device of FIG. 15, and FIG. 15B is a view showing an internal structure of a portion surrounded by a chain line of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a top view showing a lid gripping plate,
(A) shows the state of standby and lid release, (b)
Indicates the state of gripping the lid.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an ascending / descending position of the lid unloading machine.

FIG. 18 is a view showing a lid removing / transferring device,
(A) is the top view, (b) is the front view of (a), (c)
FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the lid transfer arm taken along line I-I of FIG.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram for sequentially explaining removal of the lid from the lid separator by the lid removal machine.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram that follows FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram that follows FIG. 21.

23 is a view showing a lid transfer device in which a lid transfer arm is located at a lid mounting position, (a) is a top view thereof, and (b) is a front view of (a). FIG.

FIG. 24 is a side view showing the cup transport device.

FIG. 25 is a view showing the internal structure of the vertical transport device,
(A) is the top view, (b) is a front view.

26A and 26B are views showing a lid pressing device, FIG. 26A is a front view thereof, FIG. 26B is a partially cutaway view showing a portion encircled by an alternate long and short dash line in FIG. It is an arrow line view of the II-II line of (a).

27A and 27B are views for explaining the attachment of the lid to the cup at the lid attachment position, where FIG. 27A is a state before the cup is raised, FIG. 27B is a state in which the cup is in contact with the lid, and FIG. ) Shows that the cup is raised further and the lid is firmly fitted into the cup.

28 is an explanatory view following FIG. 27, (a) showing a state in which the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the lid mounted on the cup is locked by the lid locking claws of the lid transfer arm, (b) shows the lid transfer arm. Shows the state in which the lid is unlocked by the lid locking claw, and (c) shows the state in which the cup is lowered.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the mounting of the lid on the cup in a state where the center of the cup and the center of the mounting lid deviate from each other.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the unlocking of the lid by the lid locking claw by raising the lid transfer arm at the lid mounting position.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the vertical transport device at the cup beverage providing position.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a lid proper mounting detection unit that detects whether or not the lid is properly mounted in the cup beverage with a lid.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram for explaining setting of a high-speed rising section of the cup lifting arm.

FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the lid take-out / transfer device including the lid separator.

35 is a view showing the lid separator of FIG. 34,
(A) is a top view, (b) is an internal structure figure, (c) is a side view which shows a lid cam.

36A and 36B are views for explaining the operation of separating the lid by the lid separator, where FIG. 36A shows a state in which the lid is locked, and FIG. 36B shows a state in which the lid is separated.

FIG. 37 is a view for explaining the operation of the lid cam, (a) shows a state in which the lid cam locks the mounting lid,
(B) shows a state in which the mounting lid is unlocked and the next mounting lid is locked.

38A and 38B are side views showing the lid delivery mechanism with a part thereof cut away, where FIG. 38A shows a state in which the lid delivery member is located at a standby position, and FIG. 38B shows a state in which the lid delivery member is raised. .

FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram for explaining delivery of the lid to the lid transfer arm by the lid delivery mechanism.

FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the attitude control of the lid by the lid delivery member.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 vending machine 2 lid mounting device 11 lid stocker 12 Lid take-out / transfer device 22 lid storage 51 Lid take-out device (lid delivery means) 54 Lid take-out machine (lid delivery member) 73 Lifting mechanism (driving mechanism) 82 Lid transfer arm (lid set part) 96a opening 171 Lid take-out / transfer device 172 lid separator (lid separating means) 173 Lid chute (lid guide member) 174 Lid delivery mechanism (lid delivery means) 185 lid passage 191 Lid delivery member 192 Lifting mechanism (drive mechanism) 193 Lid support 194 Rack section 194a rack 196 Coil spring (biasing means) 201 Lid delivery motor (motor) 203 Pinion C cup D cup beverage L lid

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kazuyoshi Ishii             Sanyo, 5-20-8 Asakusabashi, Taito-ku, Tokyo             Electric Vending Machine Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3E047 CA02 CB02 CC03 CC10 GA03                 3F030 AA00 AA01 AB01 CA01 CC02

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A lid mounting device for a cup-type vending machine that mounts a lid on a cup containing a beverage at the time of sale, and a lid storage device for storing a lid row in which a plurality of lids are vertically stacked. Lid separating means for separating the lowest lid from the lid row housed in the lid container, and a lid arranged at a predetermined position below the lid container for setting the lid for mounting on the cup. A lid mounting device for a cup-type vending machine, comprising: a set portion; and a lid delivery means for delivering and setting the lid separated by the lid separating means to the lid set portion. 2. The lid delivery means is disposed between the lid container and the lid set portion and has a lid passage extending vertically and tapered toward the lid set portion. The lid mounting device for a cup-type vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a lid guide member having the lid guide member. 3. The lid set portion has an opening that penetrates in the up-down direction and that can lock the lid from below, and the lid delivery means passes through the opening and above and below the opening. A lid delivery member that can be lifted up and down between the lid delivery member and the lid to support the lid from below; a drive mechanism that drives the lid delivery member to move up and down; Is raised above the opening, and after the lid delivery member supports the lid,
3. A control means for controlling the drive mechanism so as to lower the lid delivery member to a position below the opening, further comprising:
The lid mounting device for the cup-type vending machine described in. 4. The cup-type automatic vending machine according to claim 3, wherein the lid delivery means further comprises lid attitude control means for controlling the attitude of the lid supported by the lid delivery member. Machine lid mounting device. 5. The drive mechanism includes a motor, a pinion that is rotationally driven by the motor, and a rack that is provided on the lid delivery member and that extends in the vertical direction and engages with the pinion. The lid attitude control means is a motor control means for controlling the motor to continue rotating even after the engagement between the rack and the pinion raised by the drive of the motor is disengaged, and the engagement between the rack and the pinion. The lid mounting device for a cup-type vending machine according to claim 4, further comprising: a biasing unit that biases the lid delivery member downward when the lid delivery member comes off.