JP2007094488A - Beverage vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a beverage vending machine capable of mixing raw materials in a plurality of raw material containers using a single mixing container. <P>SOLUTION: The beverage vending machine has a mixing ball moving mechanism 13, capable of moving mixing balls 5 to the raw material outlet 4a of each raw material container 4, so that the raw materials in the plurality of raw material containers 4 can be mixed by means of the one mixing container. This results in a reduced number of part items and reduced manufacturing costs. Also, the number of mixing containers that need maintenance is reduced, whereby the maintenance work can be facilitated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage vending machine that extracts beverages from raw materials such as coffee beans and injects them into a cup for sale.

  Conventionally, as this type of beverage vending machine, at least one kind of raw materials and a plurality of mixing containers supplied with hot water, water or a predetermined beverage to be mixed with the raw materials, and a plurality of kinds of raw materials are used. It is known that a plurality of raw material containers are accommodated, and the raw material is carried out to a mixing container via a raw material carry-out portion provided in each raw material container (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In this beverage vending machine, hot water supplied from one hot water supply valve to the mixing container is switched by the switching means, so that hot water can be supplied from the single hot water supply valve to each mixing container.
JP-A-5-233945

  However, in the conventional example, since the mixing container is provided for each raw material container, the number of parts of the beverage vending machine is increased, the manufacturing cost is high, and maintenance is required for each mixing container. There was a problem that became complicated.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said problem, The place made into the objective is to provide the drink vending machine which can mix the raw material of several raw material containers with one mixing container. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention accommodates at least one kind of raw materials and a mixing container to which hot water, water or a predetermined beverage to be mixed with the raw materials is supplied, and a plurality of kinds of raw materials. In a beverage vending machine comprising a plurality of raw material containers, and the raw materials are carried out to the mixing containers via the raw material carrying parts provided in the respective raw material containers, the mixing containers are placed in the raw material carrying parts of the respective raw material containers. Each has movable moving means.

  Thereby, since the mixing container is moved to each raw material container by the moving means, the raw materials in the plurality of raw material containers are mixed in one mixing container.

  According to the present invention, since the raw materials of a plurality of raw material containers can be mixed in one mixing container, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, the number of mixing containers requiring maintenance can be reduced to facilitate maintenance work.

  1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a front view of a beverage vending machine, FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the configuration, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the operation of a mixing container, FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the beverage vending machine, and FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a modification of the embodiment.

  The beverage vending machine includes a vending machine body 1, a boiler 2 for heating drinking water, a water supply tank 3 for storing drinking water, a plurality of raw material containers 4 for storing raw materials, and an unloading from each raw material container 4. A mixing ball 5 as a mixing container for mixing the raw material with hot water, water or other beverage, a ventilation fan 6 for ventilating the mixing ball 5, a coffee raw material container 7 for storing coffee beans as a raw material, and a coffee beverage An extractor 8 for extracting, a cup unloader 9 for unloading the cup A, a cup moving mechanism 10 for moving the cup A unloaded from the cup unloader 9 to the product outlet 1g, and waste water for storing unnecessary drainage Mixing ball that can move container 11, extraction pump 12 that supplies drinking water to extractor 8 through boiler 2, and mixing ball 5 to raw material outlet 4 a of each raw material container 4 A moving mechanism 13, and a control unit 14 for controlling the various devices.

  On the front surface of the vending machine main body 1, there are a plurality of product selection switches 1a, a sales lamp 1b attached to each product selection switch 1a, and an auxiliary selection switch 1c for selecting a seasoning such as sugar, cream or black. Is provided. Further, a coin insertion slot 1d, a coin return slot 1e, a money amount display portion 1f, and a product outlet 1g are provided on the front surface of the vending machine body 1, and the coins inserted into the coin insertion slot 1d are received by a coin processing device 1h. To be processed.

  The boiler 2 is a known instantaneous small boiler that generates hot water of about 90 ° C. with an internal heater (not shown), and has a tank 2a having a capacity of about 400 cc. The tank 2a is provided with a water supply port 2b and a drain port 2c, and a plurality of discharge ports 2d for discharging hot water, and the drain port 2c is opened and closed by an electromagnetic valve 2e.

  The water supply tank 3 is connected to the extraction pump 12 through a water supply pump 3a, a cistern 3b, a filter 3c, and a flow meter 3d, and supplies drinking water stored therein to the cistern 3b by the water supply pump 3a. . This water supply tank 3 is installed in the lower part in the vending machine main body 1, for example, is directly replenished with drinking water from the outside, or is replaced with a new water supply tank 3 that stores drinking water in advance. It may be a thing. Moreover, the flow volume of the drinking water detected with the flowmeter 3d is transmitted to the control part 14, and the control part 14 controls the water supply pump 3a based on the received flow volume.

  Each raw material container 4 contains tea (or Japanese tea), cream, cocoa, and sugar as powder raw materials, respectively, and a predetermined amount of raw material is supplied through a raw material outlet 4 a provided below each raw material container 4. Each one is to be carried out. Each raw material container 4 may contain not only powder raw materials but also liquid raw materials.

  The mixing ball 5 is disposed below the raw material outlet 4a of each raw material container 4, and receives the raw material carried out from the raw material container 4 via the raw material outlet 4a. In addition, the mixing ball 5 includes a hot water supply nozzle 5 a that supplies hot water fed from the discharge port 2 d of the boiler 2 to the mixing ball 5, and a beverage nozzle that supplies the coffee beverage extracted by the extractor 8 to the mixing ball 5. 5b is integrally provided, the hot water supply nozzle 5a is connected to the boiler 2 via a hot water supply pipe 5c, and the beverage nozzle 5b is connected to the extractor 8 via a beverage supply pipe 5d. In addition, a beverage discharge pipe 5 e is connected to the mixing ball 5. In this case, the hot water supply pipe 5c, the beverage supply pipe 5d, and the beverage discharge pipe 5e are each formed by a flexible hose. Furthermore, the mixing ball 5 is provided with a stirrer 5f that stirs the inside of the mixing ball, and the beverage mixed in the mixing ball 5 is injected into the cup A of the product outlet 1g through the beverage discharge pipe 5e. It has become so.

  The ventilation fan 6 is connected to the mixing ball 5 through the duct 6a, and the steam in the mixing ball 5 is discharged to the outside through the duct 6a. In this case, the duct 6a is formed by a flexible duct.

  The coffee raw material container 7 has a mill 7a for grinding coffee beans, and a predetermined amount of raw material (ground beans) measured by the measuring device 7b is carried out to the extractor 8.

  The extractor 8 has a well-known configuration for extracting a coffee beverage from a raw material (ground beans) using hot water fed from the discharge port 2d of the boiler 2, and the extracted beverage is provided with a beverage supply pipe 5d and a beverage nozzle 5b. The raw material cake after being extracted and injected into the mixing ball 5 is discharged into the basket container 8a.

  The cup unloader 9 has a well-known configuration that accommodates cups A for selling beverages, and drops the cups A one by one to the cup moving mechanism 10 side.

  The cup moving mechanism 10 includes an arm 10a that can receive the cup A at one end and a motor 10b that rotates the arm 10a. The cup moving mechanism 10 receives the cup A carried out from the cup unloader 9 by the arm 10a, and rotates the arm 10a by the motor 10b, thereby moving the cup A to the product outlet 1g. .

  The drainage container 11 is installed in the lower part in the vending machine main body 1 and accommodates unnecessary liquid discharged from the drainage port 2c of the boiler 2 and the product outlet 1g.

  The extraction pump 12 is a well-known electromagnetic pump, and sucks drinking water in the cistern 3b and discharges it to the boiler 2 side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the mixing ball moving mechanism 13 includes a pair of pulleys 13a provided at both ends in the arrangement direction of the raw material outlets 4a, an endless belt 13b wound around each pulley 13a, and a mixing A rail 13c that is disposed below the ball 5 and guides the mixing ball 5 to the raw material outlet 4a of each raw material container 4 and a motor 13d that is connected to a pulley 13a on one end side. The pulley 13a is rotated by a motor 13d and causes the belt 13b to travel in the arrangement direction of the raw material outlets 4a. A mixing ball 5 is attached to the outer periphery of the belt 13b, and the mixing ball 5 moves on the rail 13c as the belt 13b travels.

  The control unit 14 includes a CPU and the like, and controls various devices based on electrical signals received from the product selection switch 1a, the auxiliary selection switch 1c, the coin processing device 1h, or the flow meter 3d as shown in FIG. To do. The operation of the control unit 14 will be described later.

  In the beverage vending machine configured as described above, when money is inserted by the user, the control unit 14 displays the total amount of money inserted on the money amount display unit 1f. Next, when an arbitrary product is selected by the user pressing the product selection switch 1a, the control unit 14 unloads the cup A from the cup unloader 9 and drives the motor 10b of the cup moving mechanism 10. Then, the cup A is moved to the product outlet 1g. Moreover, the control part 14 makes the sales lamp 1b corresponding to each goods selection switch 1a light, and inject | pours arbitrary drinks and ingredients into the mixing ball 5. FIG. For example, when coffee is selected by the product selection switch 1a and cream is selected by the auxiliary selection switch 1c, the control unit 14 supplies hot water from the boiler 2 to the extractor 8 and a mixing ball moving mechanism. 13 motors 13d and the extractor 8 are driven. That is, while the mixing ball 5 is moved to the raw material outlet 4a of the raw material container 4 containing the cream, the coffee drink extracted from the extractor 8 is placed inside the mixing ball 5 via the beverage nozzle 5d. Injected. And the control part 14 stops the motor 13d, when the mixing ball | bowl 5 is moved to the raw material outlet 4a of the raw material container 4 in which the cream was accommodated.

  Next, the control unit 14 drives the stirrer 5f to stir the mixing ball 5 after the cream is transported to the mixing ball 5 through the raw material outlet 4a of the raw material container 4. Thereby, the cream and the coffee drink are mixed in the mixing ball 5 and injected into the cup A of the product outlet 1g.

  When sugar is selected in addition to the cream by the auxiliary selection switch 1c, the control unit 14 drives the motor 13d of the mixing ball moving mechanism 13 after the cream is carried out to the mixing ball 5, and the mixing ball 5 is moved to the raw material outlet 4a of the raw material container 4 in which sugar is accommodated. During this movement, the control unit 14 drives the stirrer 5f to stir the inside of the mixing ball 5.

  Thus, according to the beverage vending machine of the present embodiment, the mixing ball 5 is provided with the mixing ball moving mechanism 13 that can move the mixing ball 5 to the raw material carry-out port 4a of each raw material container 4, so that one mixing container can be used. The raw materials of the plurality of raw material containers 4 can be mixed. As a result, the number of parts is reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, the number of mixing containers requiring maintenance can be reduced to facilitate maintenance work.

  Further, since the endless belt 13b wound around the pair of pulleys 13a is configured to run in the arrangement direction of the raw material carry-out ports 4a by the motor 13d, the belt 13b is wider than the moving range of the mixing balls 5 The size is not increased. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an extra space for moving the mixing ball 5, so that the beverage vending machine can be reduced in size.

  Further, since the hot water supply nozzle 5a for supplying hot water to the mixing ball 5 and the beverage nozzle 5b for supplying coffee beverage are provided integrally with the mixing ball 5, the raw material and hot water or coffee are reliably mixed in the mixing ball 5. Can be poured into cup A.

  In addition, since hot water or coffee is supplied from the hot water supply nozzle 5a or the beverage nozzle 5b into the mixing ball 5 while the mixing ball 5 is moved by the mixing ball moving mechanism 13, the process related to the movement of the mixing ball 5 is performed. And the process of supplying hot water or coffee to the mixing ball 5 can be performed simultaneously, and the time until the beverage is poured into the cup A can be shortened.

  Furthermore, since the agitator 5a for agitating the inside of the mixing ball 5 is provided and the agitator 5a is operated while the mixing ball 5 is being moved by the mixing ball moving mechanism 13, the processing and mixing related to the movement of the mixing ball 5 are performed. The process which stirs the inside of the ball | bowl 5 can be performed simultaneously, and time until it inject | pours a drink into the cup A can be shortened.

  In the mixing ball moving mechanism 13 described above, an endless belt 13b wound around a pair of pulleys 13a is configured to run in the arrangement direction of the raw material outlets 4a by a motor 13d. As shown, a spur gear 13f that meshes with a gear 13e connected to the motor 13d is provided, and a projection 13g provided on the spur gear 13f presses the micro switch 13h disposed below each material outlet 4a. Until this occurs, the spur gear 13f may be moved by driving the motor 13d.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where hot water or a coffee drink was supplied to the mixing ball | bowl 5, it is applicable also when supplying water to the mixing ball | bowl 5 when selling a cold drink.

  In the above embodiment, the coffee drink extracted by the extractor 8 is supplied to the mixing ball 5. However, the coffee drink extracted by the extractor 8 is supplied directly to the cup A. It may be what you did.

The front view of the drink vending machine which shows one Embodiment of this invention Schematic diagram showing the configuration of a beverage vending machine Plan view showing the operation of the mixing vessel Functional block diagram of beverage vending machine The top view which shows the modification of embodiment

Explanation of symbols

  2f ... Nozzle for hot water supply, 4 ... Raw material container, 4a ... Raw material carry-out port, 5 ... Mixing ball, 5a ... Hot water supply nozzle, 5b ... Beverage nozzle, 5f ... Stirrer, 13 ... Mixing ball moving mechanism, 13a ... Pulley, 13b ... Belt , 13d: motor.

Claims (5)

Each raw material container is provided with a mixing container to which hot water, water or a predetermined beverage to be mixed with at least one kind of raw material and the raw materials are supplied, and a plurality of raw material containers respectively storing the plural kinds of raw materials. In a beverage vending machine adapted to carry out raw materials to a mixing container through a raw material carry-out section provided in
A beverage vending machine comprising moving means capable of moving the mixing container to a raw material carry-out portion of each raw material container. The beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the moving means is configured to move an endless belt wound around a pair of pulleys in a predetermined direction by a motor. The beverage vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a nozzle for supplying hot water, water or a predetermined beverage to the mixing container is provided integrally with the mixing container. The beverage vending machine according to claim 3, wherein hot water, water, or a predetermined beverage is supplied from the nozzle into the mixing container while the mixing container is moved by the moving means. A stirrer for stirring the inside of the mixing container;
The beverage vending machine according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the agitator is operated while the mixing container is moved by the moving means.

Images