JP2005263278A - Beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a beverage dispenser which is capable of being adopted to a variety of cups and reducing erroneous detection caused by objects in the vicinity of the cup, thus, capable of conducting high precision cup detection. <P>SOLUTION: The beverage dispenser 1 that supplies beverage into a cup is provided with cup sensors for detecting the cup C and a control device 20 that regulates the supply of the beverage into the cup C based on the output of the cup sensor, while the cup sensors are of transmission type ultrasonic sensors in each of which the cup C is placed between a transmitting side transducer 17A and a receiving side transducer 17B, and the control device 20 determines the presence or absence of the cup C based on a phase difference between a signal transmitted from the transmitting side transducer 17A and a signal received by the receiving side transducer 17B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser for supplying a beverage to a cup detected by a sensor.

  Conventionally, in a beverage dispenser that supplies a beverage to a cup, a post-mix valve that discharges the beverage is provided at the top of the main body, and a sensor that detects the cup is provided on the front surface of the main body. Then, on the condition that the presence of the cup is detected by the sensor, a specified amount of beverage is supplied by operating a beverage selection button provided on the upper front surface of the main body (see Patent Document 1). ).

As the sensor for detecting the cup, for example, a light transmission type sensor (light sensor) including a light emitting part and a light receiving part is used. This optical sensor outputs a cup detection signal when the light receiving unit detects light blocking with respect to the light from the light emitting unit.
JP 2003-26293 A

  Nowadays, cups used in beverage dispensers that supply beverages are diversified. However, in the conventional beverage dispenser, since the optical sensor is used for detecting the cup as described above, there is a problem that a transparent cup that transmits light such as a glass cup cannot be detected. Therefore, when supplying a beverage to a transparent cup, a method of adjusting the beverage supply amount according to the operation time of the beverage selection button is adopted instead of a method of detecting a cup by a sensor and supplying a prescribed amount of beverage. Is done.

  However, recently, customers who have come to services such as restaurants can freely operate the beverage dispenser to discharge beverages, so the usage used for so-called free drink services has increased, improving the safety when discharging beverages, There is a demand for a beverage dispenser equipped with a cup sensor from the standpoint of preventing mischief.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to use an ultrasonic sensor as a cup sensor that can detect the presence of a cup even in a transparent cup. In general, ultrasonic sensors include a reflective sensor and a transmissive sensor, and the reflective sensor has a detection distance of about 0.5 to 50 m and cannot detect a short distance. The ultrasonic sensor is suitable.

  The transmission-type ultrasonic sensor is configured such that the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission side to the reception side is blocked by the object existing between the transmission side and the reception side, and the signal level on the reception side is lowered, so that the presence of the object and The passage is detected. However, due to the characteristics of ultrasonic waves, ultrasonic waves radiated from the transmission side have low directivity, and ultrasonic waves are emitted in directions other than the cup to be detected. When a person stands in front of a dispenser, there is a problem in that an ultrasonic wave reflected on a person's body or luggage reaches the receiving side and erroneous detection occurs.

  The beverage dispenser of the present invention supplies a beverage to a cup, and includes a cup detection means for detecting the cup and a control means for controlling the beverage supply to the cup based on the output of the cup detection means. The cup detection means is a transmission type ultrasonic sensor in which a cup is placed between the transmission side and the reception side, and the control means is a circuit between the signal transmitted from the transmission side and the signal received at the reception side. The presence or absence of a cup is determined based on the phase difference.

  In the beverage dispenser of the invention of claim 2, in the above invention, the control means treats the phase difference data as valid when the rate of change of the phase difference per unit time is within a specified value.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the beverage dispenser includes, in each of the above inventions, temperature detection means for detecting a temperature near the cup detection means, and the control means executes temperature correction control based on the output of the temperature detection means. is there.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the above beverage dispenser, the control means executes trimming control for correcting an error due to a distance between the transmission side and the reception side.

  In the present invention, in a beverage dispenser for supplying a beverage to a cup, a cup detection means for detecting the cup, and a control means for controlling the beverage supply to the cup based on the output of the cup detection means, the cup detection Since the means is a transmission type ultrasonic sensor in which a cup is placed between the transmission side and the reception side, the presence or absence of the cup can be detected without any trouble even if it is a transparent cup that transmits light. Further, there is no problem that it is difficult to detect the cup at a short distance as in the reflection type ultrasonic sensor.

  In particular, since the control means determines the presence or absence of a cup based on the phase difference between the signal transmitted from the transmission side and the signal received at the reception side, it becomes possible to suppress malfunctions due to reflected waves as much as possible. Highly accurate cup detection is possible.

  In the invention of claim 2, in the above, the control means treats the data of the phase difference as valid when the rate of change of the phase difference per unit time is within the specified value, so that the influence of the ultrasonic wave reflected on the human body or the like And more accurate cup detection can be realized.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in each of the above inventions, the temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature in the vicinity of the cup detecting means is provided, and the control means executes temperature correction control based on the output of the temperature detecting means. This makes it possible to realize cup detection that is not affected by the ambient temperature.

  In the invention of claim 4, in each of the above inventions, the control means executes trimming control for correcting the error due to the distance between the transmission side and the reception side, so that it depends on the attachment error between the transmission side and the reception side of the cup detection means. A more stable cup detection can be realized by correcting the change in the propagation distance of the ultrasonic wave.

  The present invention has been made to solve the conventional technical problems, can cope with diversified cups, reduces false detections due to objects around the cups, and performs highly accurate cup detection. An object is to provide a beverage dispenser that can be realized. Hereinafter, the beverage dispenser 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a front view of a beverage dispenser 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the beverage dispenser 1 similarly.

  The beverage dispenser 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to feed the liquid raw material filled in the liquid raw material tank 8 and mix it with a diluting liquid such as diluted water or carbonated water and supply it to the cup C as a beverage. It is comprised by the main body 2 which exhibits character shape. In the main body 2, there are a cool box 3, a front door 4 of the cool box 3, a cool box cooling coil 5 that cools the inside of the cool box 3, a cooler 6 that sends refrigerant to the cool box cooling coil 5, and a cool box cooling coil 5. A cold air blower 7 that circulates the cooled cold air into the cold insulation chamber 3 is provided.

  Further, a syrup flow path 9 connected to the liquid raw material tank 8 is configured in the main body 2. The syrup passage 9 is connected to a flow regulator 10 that adjusts the flow rate and a postmix valve 11 that functions to turn on and off the supply of the liquid material in response to a signal from a control device 20 that will be described later. Are communicated, and the liquid raw material and diluent supplied to the postmix valve 11 are mixed by a nozzle to become a beverage and supplied to the cup C.

  Further, a cooling water tank 12 is provided in the main body 2. This cooling water tank 12 cools dilution liquid such as carbonated water in a carbonator (carbonated water production apparatus) 13 and dilution water in a water cooling coil 14 with cooling water in the water tank. The cooler 6 cools the air. A flow regulator 10 for adjusting the flow rate is connected to the carbonated water flow path 15 and the water cooling coil 14 outlet side connected to the carbonator 13, a postmix valve 11 is communicated, and the liquid raw material and diluent are mixed by the postmix valve 11. It becomes a beverage and is supplied to the cup C.

  Further, below the post mix valve 11, there is provided a cup installation table 16 for placing a cup C for receiving the beverage supplied from the post mix valve 11. Between the base 16, transducers 17 </ b> A and 17 </ b> B that constitute the cup sensor are provided on the left and right sides of the cup C placed on the cup mounting base 16. Further, a temperature sensor 18 for detecting the sensor ambient temperature is provided around either of the transducers 17A and 17B.

  The cup sensor is composed of a transmission type ultrasonic sensor. Hereinafter, with reference to the control block diagram of FIG. 3, the output configuration related to the cup sensor and the cup sensor to the control device 20 will be described. The cup sensor includes a pulse generation circuit 21, transducers 17A and 17B, an amplifier 22, a phase comparator 23, an integration circuit 24, and an A / D converter 25. Thus, by outputting the electrical signal generated by the pulse generation circuit 21 to the transmission side transducer 17A, the transmission side transducer 17A converts the electrical signal into an ultrasonic wave and propagates it to the reception side transducer 17B. The reception-side transducer 17B returns the ultrasonic wave propagated from the transmission-side transducer 17A to an electrical signal, amplifies the electrical signal with the amplifier 22, corrects the conversion loss in the transducer, and then converts the signal into a phase. Output to the comparator 23.

  The electrical signal before being transmitted from the pulse generation circuit 21 to the transmission side transducer 17A is also output to the phase comparator 23, whereby the phase comparator 23 is an electrical signal before being transmitted to the transmission side transducer 17A. And the phase of the electric signal after passing through the receiving-side transducer 17B are compared, and the phase difference between the two signals is output to the integrating circuit 24 as a pulse width.

  The integrating circuit 24 is composed of an LPF, integrates the phase difference between both signals output from the phase comparator 23 and converts it into a DC voltage, and then converts the integrated output signal of the phase comparator 23 into an A / D converter. Output to the device 25. The A / D converter 25 converts the output signal from the phase comparator 23 integrated as described above into digital data, and outputs the phase difference data to the control device 20 as phase data.

  Further, the electrical signal of the temperature sensor 18 that detects the temperature around the cup sensor is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 26 and then output to the control device 20 as temperature data.

  In addition to the output of the cup sensor and the temperature sensor 18 as described above, the control device 20 also outputs a power supply signal of the beverage dispenser 1, an output of a beverage supply signal by operating a beverage supply button (not shown), and the like. The postmix valve 11 and the like for supplying the beverage are controlled based on the input.

  Next, the detection operation of the cup C by the cup sensor as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall control, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are flowcharts of each process. First, in step S1, the control device 20 determines whether or not a trimming start signal has been input. This trimming start signal is a signal output when the beverage dispenser 1 is installed and the power is turned on. In this embodiment, the trimming start signal is input when the power is turned on. However, if a specially sellable button is provided, the trimming start signal may be output by operating the button. To do.

  When the trimming start signal is input, the control device 20 proceeds to step S2 and performs sensor attachment variation correction processing in a state where the cup C or the like is not placed. In this sensor mounting variation correction process, even if the device has the same specifications, the ultrasonic propagation distance changes due to subtle variations in the mounting positions of the transducers 17A and 17B. This is trimming control for correcting an error due to the distance between the transmitting-side transducer 17A and the receiving-side transducer 17B only when a start signal is input.

That is, the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave can be expressed by the following equation. For example, when a transducer having a frequency of 40 kHz is used in an environment of + 15 ° C., the wavelength is 8.5 mm.
λ = C / f (Formula 1)
However, it is assumed that C = acoustic wave propagation speed, λ = wavelength, and f = frequency.
As a result, variations in the mounting positions of the transducers 17A and 17B are subtly affected, and therefore it is necessary to determine reference phase data used as a reference in the subsequent sensor determination process for each apparatus.

  In the sensor mounting variation correction process, first, in step S21, the control device 20 performs phase comparison between the electrical signal before being transmitted to the transmitting side transducer 17A and the electrical signal after having passed through the receiving side transducer 17B as described above. The obtained phase data is input from the A / D converter 25. After the input, after a predetermined delay time has elapsed in step S22, the process proceeds to step S23, and it is determined whether or not the phase data input in step S21 has been performed a prescribed number of times, in this embodiment, five times. . If it is less than the specified number of times, the process returns to step S21 again, and phase data is input a specified number of times at regular intervals and stored in the internal storage means.

  Next, in step S24, the control device 20 calculates the rate of change between the input phase data, and when the rate of change is within a predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S26 and described above. As described above, the temperature data obtained from the temperature sensor 18 is input from the A / D converter 26 and stored in the internal storage means as reference temperature data that becomes a reference for the temperature deviation in the temperature correction processing in the subsequent stage.

Here, the control device 20 inputs the temperature data because the ultrasonic sound velocity changes in phase depending on the ambient temperature as represented by the following equation. This is because it is necessary to perform correction based on changes in ambient temperature in the process.
C = 331.5√ (T / 273) = 331.5 + 0.607t (m / s) (Formula 2)
Where C = velocity of sound waves, T = absolute temperature, and t = degrees Celsius. Note that √ (T / 273) indicates the square root of (T / 273).

  Thereafter, the control device 20 proceeds to step S27, stores the average value of each phase data in the storage means as reference phase data, and ends the sensor attachment variation correction process.

  On the other hand, if the calculated rate of change is other than a predetermined specified value in step S24, the direct wave radiated from the transmitting-side transducer 17A is blocked by some object, and a person around the apparatus moves. Since the reflected wave reflected by the object to be transmitted is considered to have been received by the receiving-side transducer 17B and is not valid as the reference phase data, each input phase data is cleared in step S25. Then, the process returns again to step S21.

  In general, since the directivity of the transducer is dull, reflected waves other than the direct wave are also input to the receiving side transducer 17B by multipath, but the signal intensity of the direct wave is stronger than the reflected wave as described above. Since the reflected wave is suppressed, a large change does not appear between each phase data, and it is stable.

  After the sensor mounting variation correction process as described above, the control device 20 proceeds from step S2 to step S3, and performs a temperature correction process (temperature correction control). The temperature correction process is a process that is always performed before each sensor determination process, and corrects the reference phase data acquired in the sensor attachment variation correction process according to a temperature change.

  First, the control device 20 inputs temperature data detected by the temperature sensor 18 in step S31 from the A / D converter 26. Next, the process proceeds to step S32, where a temperature deviation is calculated from the reference temperature data acquired in the sensor mounting variation correction process in the previous stage and the current temperature data input in step S31 to obtain temperature correction data. Thereafter, the control device 20 proceeds to step S33, corrects the reference phase data stored in the internal storage means as described above with the temperature correction data acquired in step S32, and overwrites the storage means as new reference phase data. To do. The correction of the reference phase data with the temperature correction data is performed by reflecting the reference wave data with the correction coefficient calculated by the propagation velocity of the sound wave with respect to the temperature of the equation 2 and the wavelength with respect to the sound velocity of the equation 1. To do.

  After the temperature correction process as described above, the control device 20 proceeds from step S3 to step S4, and performs a sensor determination process for detecting the presence or absence of the cup C. In the sensor determination process, first, in step S41, the control device 20 is obtained by comparing the phase of the electrical signal before transmission to the transmission side transducer 17A and the electrical signal after passing through the reception side transducer 17B as described above. Phase data is input from the A / D converter 25. After the input, after a predetermined delay time has elapsed in step S42, the process proceeds to step S43, and it is determined whether or not the phase data input in step S41 has been performed a prescribed number of times, in this embodiment, five times. . If it is less than the prescribed number, the process returns to step S41 again, and phase data is inputted a prescribed number of times at regular intervals and stored in the internal storage means.

  Next, in step S44, the control device 20 calculates the rate of change per unit time between the input phase data. If the rate of change is other than the specified value, the control device 20 determines that the moving object such as a person is moved. It is determined that a signal input in a state where the reflected wave is reflected and data due to noise are included and cannot be used as stable and valid data, and the process returns to step S41. If the rate of change between the input phase data is within a predetermined value, it is determined that effective phase data of the ultrasonic direct wave has been obtained, and the process proceeds to step S46.

  Then, the control device 20 calculates the average value of each phase data in step S46 and sets it as valid data A. Thereafter, in step S47, the effective data A is compared with the reference phase data corrected by the temperature correction process, and if it is within the specified value, the process proceeds to step S48 to output “no cup” and other than the specified value. If there is, the process proceeds to step S49 to output the presence of a cup.

  And when there exists an output with a cup, the control apparatus 20 opens the postmix valve 11 only for predetermined supply time based on the output of the drink supply signal by operation of the drink supply button which is not shown in figure. Thereby, the liquid raw material stored in the liquid raw material tank 8 and the carbonated water or dilution water from the carbonator 13 are supplied and the beverage mixed in the postmix valve 11 is supplied to the cup by a predetermined amount.

  After performing the sensor determination process, the process returns to the start as shown in FIG. The input of the trimming start signal is executed only when it is necessary to correct the variation or change in the ultrasonic propagation distance, such as when the apparatus is installed. The temperature correction process is performed every time in the sensor determination process loop. Shall be.

  With the above configuration, in this embodiment, as a means for detecting the cup C, a transmission type ultrasonic sensor in which the cup C is placed between the transmission side transducer 17A and the reception side transducer 17B is used. The presence or absence of the cup C can be detected without any trouble even if the transparent cup is transparent. Further, there is no problem that it is difficult to detect the cup C at a short distance as in the case of the reflective ultrasonic sensor.

  In particular, according to the cup sensor of the present embodiment, the presence or absence of the cup C based on the phase difference between the signal transmitted from the transmission-side transducer 17A and the signal received by the reception-side transducer 17B by the control device 20. Therefore, the malfunction due to the reflected wave can be suppressed as much as possible, and the cup can be detected with high accuracy.

  Further, in this embodiment, the control device 20 calculates the rate of change of the phase difference per unit time as described above, and treats it as valid phase difference data only when the rate of change is within a specified value. This makes it possible to prevent the influence of ultrasonic waves reflected on the human body and the like and to realize cup detection with higher accuracy.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the temperature around the cup sensor is detected by the temperature sensor 18, and the temperature correction process is executed based on the output of the temperature sensor, thereby correcting the change in the propagation speed of the ultrasonic wave due to the temperature. This makes it possible to realize cup detection that is not affected by the ambient temperature.

  In addition, as described above, in this embodiment, sensor installation variation correction processing is performed to correct an error due to the distance between the transmitting-side transducer 17A and the receiving-side transducer 17B when the device is installed. It is possible to correct a change in the propagation distance of the ultrasonic wave due to an attachment error between the sensor-side transducer 17A and the receiver-side transducer 17B. As a result, more stable cup detection can be realized.

It is a front block diagram of the drink dispenser of a present Example. It is a side lineblock diagram of a drink dispenser similarly. It is a control block diagram. It is a flowchart figure of the whole cup detection operation. It is a flowchart figure of a sensor attachment variation correction process. It is a flowchart figure of a temperature correction process. It is a flowchart figure of a sensor determination process.

Explanation of symbols

C Cup 1 Beverage dispenser 2 Main body 11 Post mix valve 16 Cup mounting base 17A, 17B Transducer (cup sensor)
18 Temperature sensor 20 Control device (microcomputer)
21 Pulse generation circuit 22 Amplifier 23 Phase comparator 24 Integration circuit 25, 26 A / D converter

Claims (4)

In a beverage dispenser for supplying beverage to a cup,
A cup detection means for detecting the cup, and a control means for controlling the beverage supply to the cup based on the output of the cup detection means,
The cup detection means is a transmission type ultrasonic sensor in which the cup is placed between a transmission side and a reception side, and the control means is a signal transmitted from the transmission side and a signal received on the reception side. The presence or absence of the cup is determined based on the phase difference between the beverage dispenser and the beverage dispenser.   The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the control means treats the data of the phase difference as valid when the rate of change per unit time of the phase difference is within a specified value.   The beverage according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising temperature detection means for detecting a temperature in the vicinity of the cup detection means, wherein the control means performs temperature correction control based on an output of the temperature detection means. Dispenser.   The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the control means executes trimming control for correcting an error due to a distance between the transmission side and the reception side.

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