JP2011253447A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic vending machine which facilitates cleaning of the inside of a bean chute and prevents beans from jumping out to the outside of the bean chute to contaminate the inside of an automatic vending machine body when the bean chute is attached between a bean canister and a mill.SOLUTION: In the automatic vending machine including: a bean canister 151 which stores beans to be used as a raw material; a coffee mill 152 which mills the beans; and a bean chute 154 which accepts the beans from the bean canister 151 through a bean introduction port 154a and pours in the beans to the coffee mill 152 through a bean discharge port 154b when the bean chute 154 is attached between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152, the bean introduction port 154a includes a cover member 18 which has an opening area for allowing entrance of fingers and blocks the bean introduction port 154a while allowing ejection of the beans from the bean canister 151 to the bean chute 154 when the bean chute 154 is attached between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine, and more particularly to a vending machine that supplies and sells products such as coffee drinks to a cup.

  As this type of vending machine, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. That is, when any product selection button is pressed, the corresponding product is cooked inside the vending machine body, the cooked product is supplied to the cup, transported to the position facing the outlet, and can be taken out. To do.

JP 2004-246616 A

  The vending machine described above includes an extraction device that extracts an extracted beverage such as a regular coffee beverage. Such an extraction device has a bean canister that contains coffee beans, a coffee mill that grinds coffee beans supplied from the bean canister, and hot water supplied from another system to the ground beans supplied from the coffee mill. And a coffee brewer for extracting coffee beverages. And between the bean canister and the coffee mill, a bean shooter for receiving coffee beans from the bean canister through the bean introduction port and feeding the coffee beans into the coffee mill through the bean discharge port is detachably provided.

  By the way, since coffee beans contain a large amount of oil, the oil gradually adheres to the inside of the bean shooter according to the extraction frequency of the extracted beverage (regular coffee beverage). If this oil content is left unattended, the quality of the extracted beverage to be extracted is lowered and the flavor is impaired. Moreover, since the oil component adhering to the inside of the bean shooter is viscous, coffee beans may adhere to the inner wall of the bean shooter, which may lead to problems.

  However, the opening area of the bean inlet of the bean shooter is only a size necessary for receiving the bean from the bean canister, and it was difficult to clean the inside of the bean shooter. On the other hand, it is possible to increase the opening area of the bean inlet to such an extent that the inside of the bean shooter can be cleaned, but if it is increased, the coffee beans that bounce off the coffee mill will jump out of the bean inlet, There was a risk of contaminating the inside of the vending machine body.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention facilitates cleaning of the inside of the bean shooter, and when the bean shooter is mounted between the bean canister and the mill, the bean jumps out of the bean shooter and the vending machine main body. An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine that prevents the inside from being contaminated.

  In order to achieve the above object, a vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a bean canister for storing beans as a raw material, a mill for grinding the beans, and a detachment between the bean canister and the mill. A bean shooter for receiving beans from the bean canister through a bean introduction port and feeding the beans into the mill through a bean discharge port when the bean can be installed and installed between the bean canister and the mill; And a vending machine for extracting an extracted beverage from the milled beans and the supplied hot water and supplying the extracted beverage to a beverage container for sale. When the bean shooter is mounted between the bean canister and the mill, the bean introduction port is allowed to be discharged from the bean canister to the bean shooter. Hippopotamus to close Characterized by comprising a member.

  According to the vending machine of the present invention, the bean introduction port has an opening area that allows entry of fingers, so that the bean shooter is separated from between the bean canister and the mill, The inside of the bean shooter can be cleaned by inserting a finger. Moreover, when the bean shooter is mounted between the bean canister and the mill, the cover member is attached in such a manner as to block the bean inlet while allowing the bean to be discharged from the bean canister to the bean shooter. Beans that bounce off the mill never jump out of the bean inlet. Therefore, it is easy to clean the inside of the bean shooter, and when the bean shooter is mounted between the bean canister and the mill, it prevents the beans from jumping out of the bean shooter and contaminating the inside of the vending machine body. There is an effect that can be.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal structure of the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a principle diagram showing the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the structure of the extraction device and the powder raw material supply device illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of the extraction device shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the bean shooter shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the bean shooter shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

  Exemplary embodiments of a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 3 each show a vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal structure, and FIG. 3 is a principle diagram. The vending machine exemplified here is a cup-type beverage vending machine that sells regular coffee drinks as well as instant drinks such as cocoa, and more specifically, powder raw materials such as cream, sugar, and cocoa. It is a beverage vending machine of an in-cup mixing system that cooks inside a cup, and includes a box-shaped main body cabinet 1 having an open front surface and a front door 2 that closes the front opening of the main body cabinet 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a reservoir 11, a hot water tank 12, an ice maker 13, a cooling water supply device 14, an extraction device 15, a powder raw material supply device 16 and a cup transport device 17 are provided in the main body cabinet 1. It is prepared.

  The reservoir 11 temporarily stores the supplied tap water or water supplied from a water supply tank (not shown). The water temporarily stored in the reservoir 11 is supplied to the hot water tank 12, the ice maker 13, and the cooling water supply device 14.

  The hot water tank 12 stores hot water to be supplied to the cup C transported to the cooking position in addition to the extraction device 15, and is provided along the upper right inner side of the main body cabinet 1 along the back wall. The warm water tank 12 has a built-in heater (not shown), and heats water supplied from the reservoir 11 and stores it as hot water.

  Such a hot water tank 12 is provided with a plurality of (two in the example of FIG. 3) hot water valves 121 and 123. One hot water valve 121 is connected to the extraction device 15 through a hot water supply pipe 122, and hot water is supplied to the extraction device 15 through the hot water supply pipe 122 by opening the hot water valve 121. Yes. The other hot water valve 123 is connected to the nozzle 125 provided at the cooking position via the hot water supply pipe 124, and hot water is supplied to the nozzle 125 through the hot water supply pipe 124 by opening the hot water valve 123. It is like that. Thereby, hot water is poured out from the nozzle 125 with respect to the cup C conveyed to the cooking position.

  The ice maker 13 produces cooking ice from the water supplied from the reservoir 11 and is attached to the upper left inner side of the main body cabinet 1 as shown in FIG. Although not clearly shown in the figure, the ice making device 13 includes an ice making unit for continuously scraping ice formed on the inner surface of a cylindrical metal with an auger and performing compression molding and cutting while pushing up the upper part, and an ice making unit. And an ice stocker section for storing ice formed in a chip shape. An ice door is provided in the ice stocker portion, and this ice door is connected to a nozzle (not shown) provided at the cooking position via an ice supply pipe 131. By opening the ice door, ice is supplied to the nozzle through the ice supply pipe 131. Thereby, ice will be thrown in from the nozzle with respect to the cup C conveyed to the cooking position.

  The cooling water supply device 14 includes a cooling water generation pipe 141 and a cooling water supply pipe 142. The cooling water generation pipe 141 is connected to the water supply pipe 111 via the water supply valve 143, and thus is connected to the reservoir 11. The cooling water generating pipe 141 is formed with a bent portion 141 a, and the bent portion 141 a is immersed in the cooling water tank 144. The cooling water supply pipe 142 has a base end connected to the cooling water generation pipe 141 and a tip connected to a nozzle 145 provided at the cooking position, and a cooling water supply valve 146 provided on the cooling water supply pipe 142 is provided. By opening, the cooling water is poured out from the nozzle 145 to the cup C conveyed to the cooking position.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the structure of the extraction device 15 and the powder raw material supply device 16 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the main part of the extraction device 15 shown in FIG. is there. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the extraction device 15 extracts a regular coffee drink and is attached to the upper right side inside the main body cabinet 1. The extraction device 15 includes a bean canister 151, a coffee mill 152, and a coffee brewer 153 in order from the top to the bottom.

  The bean canister 151 is made of, for example, a translucent resin material, and contains coffee beans inside. In addition, in the extraction apparatus 15 in this Embodiment, the two bean canisters 151 are provided. Such a bean canister 151 is provided with a raw material motor (not shown) inside, and when the raw material motor is driven, coffee beans accommodated in the bean canister 151 are provided from a payout opening 151a provided at the lower portion. It is designed to be paid out. On the other hand, when the driving of the raw material motor is stopped, the dispensing of the coffee beans stored in the bean canister 151 is stopped.

  The coffee mill 152 grinds the supplied coffee beans. Although not shown in detail, the coffee mill 152 includes a mill main body having a chute (cylindrical space extending in the horizontal direction) formed therein, an auger inserted through the chute and having a spiral blade formed on the outer periphery thereof. And a motor for rotating the auger. And the bean supplied to the coffee mill 152 by the motor rotating the auger is sent from the inlet toward the outlet, and is crushed in the middle. In such a coffee mill 152, the mill body is made of, for example, a resin material, like the bean canister 151.

  A bean shooter 154 is detachably provided between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152. The bean shooter 154 is made of, for example, a resin material. As shown in FIG. 6, the bean shooter 154 is a container having a hollow interior, and has a bean introduction port 154a and a bean discharge port 154b. The bean inlet 154 a is an opening for receiving beans from the bean canister 151 when the bean shooter 154 is mounted between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152 via the fastening member 155. The bean discharge port 154 b is an opening through which beans are put into the coffee mill 152.

  That is, when the bean shooter 154 is mounted between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152, the bean shooter 154 receives the bean from the bean canister 151 through the bean introduction port 154a and inputs the bean into the coffee mill 152 through the bean discharge port 154b. To do. The bean introduction port 154a has a size that allows the finger to enter the opening area and is formed in a long hole shape.

  When such a bean shooter 154 is mounted between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152, a cover member 18 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 is attached between the bean shooter 154 and the bean canister 151. It is done. The cover member 18 is a thin sheet material made of a resin material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and has a size sufficient to cover the bean inlet 154a. The cover member 18 is formed with two openings 18a and 18b corresponding to the two bean canisters 151, and a tongue-like locking piece 181 is formed at one edge of the openings 18a and 18b. Is formed.

  Such a cover member 18 has its own locking piece 181 at the bottom of the bean can 151 in a state in which the portion for forming the outlet 151 a of the bean can 151 is relatively inserted into the openings 18 a and 18 b formed in the cover member 18. It is attached by being locked to. Then, when the bean shooter 154 is attached thereafter, the cover member 18 closes the bean introduction port 154a of the bean shooter 154. That is, when the bean shooter 154 is mounted between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152, the cover member 18 closes the bean introduction port 154a while allowing the bean to be discharged from the bean canister 151 to the bean shooter 154. To do.

  The coffee brewer 153 is for extracting regular coffee drinks by pouring hot water supplied from the hot water tank 12 into ground beans supplied from the coffee mill 152. The coffee brewer 153 is connected to a nozzle 157 provided at a cooking position via a coffee supply pipe 156, and regular coffee drinks are supplied to the nozzle 157 through the coffee supply pipe 156. Thereby, a regular coffee drink is poured out from the nozzle 157 with respect to the cup C conveyed to the cooking position.

  The powder raw material supply device 16 stores powder raw materials such as cream and sugar for each raw material, and dispenses them as necessary. As shown in FIG. The powder raw material supply device 16 includes a plurality of raw material canisters 161 and a raw material shooter 162 provided for each raw material canister 161.

  The raw material canister 161 is a container that accommodates and discharges the powder raw material. The raw material canister 161 is inclined so that the upper surface is inclined downward, and a raw material inlet (not shown) is formed on the upper surface. Moreover, the raw material inlet is closed by an openable / closable lid so that no foreign matter is mixed into the powder raw material. Further, a screw (not shown) formed in a spiral shape is rotatably provided at the bottom of the raw material canister 161. When the raw material motor attached to the inner side of the raw material canister 161 is driven, the screw rotates, and the raw material canister The powder raw material is discharged from a raw material discharge port (not shown) formed on the bottom front surface of 161.

  The raw material shooter 162 receives the powder raw material discharged from the corresponding raw material canister 161 and temporarily stores it, and has a cylindrical shape extending downward from the front of the raw material canister 161.

  The cup conveying device 17 conveys the cup C supplied at a cup supply position (not shown) to the cooking position via the receiving position, and then conveys the cup C to a sales position facing the outlet 21 described later. It is provided at the inner center of the cabinet 1 and below the powder raw material supply device 16. The cup transport device 17 includes a cup gripper 171 that grips the cup C supplied at the cup supply position, and a transport mechanism 172 that transports the cup C gripped by the cup gripper 171 in the left-right direction and the front-rear direction. .

  The transport mechanism 172 causes the cup gripper 171 to stand by at the sales position in the sales standby state. Thereafter, when a product is selected, the cup gripping portion 171 is transported to the cup supply position, and the cup gripping portion 171 grips the cup C supplied from the cup supply device. After causing the cup gripper 171 to grip the cup C at the cup supply position, the transport mechanism 172 transports the cup gripper 171 to the receiving position. Here, the receiving position is a position for receiving the powder raw material discharged from the raw material canister 161 to the raw material shooter 162, and the receiving position is below the raw material shooter 162 from which the powder raw material has been discharged. For example, when selling regular coffee drinks with cream and sugar, the sugar dispensed from the raw material canister 161 and the sugar dispensed from the raw material canister 161 are temporarily stored under the raw material shooter 162 in which the cream dispensed from the raw material canister 161 is temporarily stored. The lower side of the raw material shooter 162 accommodated in the container is the receiving position.

  And the desired powder raw material is thrown in in the cup C by conveying the cup holding part 171 which hold | grips the cup C to a receiving position one by one. Thereafter, the transport mechanism 172 transports the cup gripping portion 171 that grips the cup C to the cooking position. The cooking position is a position where hot water and regular coffee drinks are poured out and cooling water and ice are supplied, and a paddle 19 for stirring the drinks in the cup C is provided so as to be able to move up and down. When the pouring of hot water, cooling water, or regular coffee drink is completed at this cooking position, the transport mechanism 172 transports the cup gripping portion 171 that grips the cup C to the sales position, whereby the desired product is cupped. It becomes possible to provide to the user in the state of being put in C.

  The front door 2 is swingably disposed at one side edge of the main body cabinet 1 so that the front opening of the main body cabinet 1 can be opened and closed. When the door is closed, the front door 2 opens. Is to block. As shown in FIG. 1, the front door 2 is provided with an outlet 21 in the center of the middle, an integrated display 22 that displays the amount of money to be inserted on the right side, and a coin insertion slot 23 for inserting coins. A return lever 24 is provided. Further, a bill insertion slot 25 is provided on the left side of the outlet 21, and a coin return slot 26 is provided on the lower right side of the front door 2.

  A product selection button 27 and a preparation button group 28 are provided on the upper half of the front door 2. A plurality of product selection buttons 27 are arranged in the upper half of the front door 2. These product selection buttons 27 are provided for each product. It is provided corresponding to the flavor card 29 on which the image of the product is drawn.

  When the product selection button 27 is pressed without pressing a blending button 281 described later, a predetermined blending component, that is, a product in which coffee beans, cream and sugar are mixed in a standard amount. Input means for indicating selection or selection of a product containing ice.

  The compound button group 28 is provided for each of the predetermined compounding ingredients such as sugar, cream, and coffee beans, and is a group of compound buttons 281 for adjusting the amount of each compounding component. Further, such a blend button 28 has a blend button 281 for selecting black. This blending button 281 prohibits the addition of blending ingredients (sugar and cream) other than coffee beans.

  The vending machine having the above-described configuration sells products as follows. When coins or bills greater than or equal to the price of the product sold from the coin insertion slot 23 or the bill insertion slot 25 are inserted, the product selection button 27 and the preparation button 281 for the corresponding product are activated.

  In this state, it is assumed that the product selection button 27 for the heated product of the regular coffee beverage is pressed without pressing the blending button 281. As described above, the product selection button 27 is an input means for selecting a product in which coffee beans, cream and sugar are mixed in a standard amount when the product selection button 281 is pressed without the preparation button 281 being pressed. Therefore, the cup C supplied from the cup supply device has a predetermined receiving position (below the raw material shooter 162 in which the cream is temporarily stored and below the raw material shooter 162 in which the sugar is temporarily stored). Cream and sugar. At the same time, the extraction device 15 extracts regular coffee drinks.

  Then, the cup C into which the powder raw material is charged at the receiving position is conveyed to the cooking position, and the regular coffee drink extracted from the extraction device 15 is poured out and stirred by the paddle 19. When the dispensing of the regular coffee drink is completed, the cup C is transported to the sales position and provided to the user through the outlet 21, whereby the product (regular coffee drink) is sold.

  Next, it is assumed that the product selection button 27 for the warmed product of the regular coffee drink is pressed after the black preparation button 281 is pressed by the user. In this case, it is determined that the black regular coffee drink is selected, and is sold as follows. That is, at the same time that the regular coffee beverage is extracted in the extraction device 15, the cup C supplied from the cup supply device is conveyed to the cooking position, and the regular coffee beverage extracted from the extraction device 15 is poured into the cup C. Is issued. When the dispensing is completed, the cup C is transported to the sales position and provided to the user through the outlet 21, whereby the product (black regular coffee drink) is sold.

  In such a vending machine, the bean introduction port 154a of the bean shooter 154 that constitutes the extraction device 15 has an opening area that allows the fingers to enter, so the bean shooter 154 is connected to the bean canister 151. And the coffee mill 152 are separated from each other, and fingers are allowed to enter from the bean introduction port 154a to clean the inside of the bean shooter 154, whereby the oil content and the like of the attached coffee beans can be washed away. In addition, when the bean shooter 154 is mounted between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152, the cover member 18 closes the bean inlet 154a while allowing the bean to be discharged from the bean canister 151 to the bean shooter 154. Since it is attached in the mode, the coffee beans bounced off from the coffee mill 152 do not jump out of the bean inlet 154a.

  Therefore, according to the vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is easy to clean the inside of the bean shooter 154, and when the bean shooter 154 is mounted between the bean canister 151 and the coffee mill 152, Can be prevented from jumping out of the bean shooter 154 and contaminating the inside of the main body cabinet 1.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the embodiment described above, two bean canisters 151 constituting the extraction device 15 are provided. However, in the present invention, the number of bean canisters 151 is not limited, and three or more bean canisters may be provided. It may be singular or singular. Further, only one bean inlet 154a of the bean shooter 154 is provided, but in the present invention, a plurality of bean inlets may be provided. As described above, when a plurality of bean introduction ports are provided, it is sufficient that at least one opening area has a size that allows a finger to enter.

  As described above, the vending machine according to the present invention is useful for selling, for example, a product such as a coffee drink in a state where it is put in a cup.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body cabinet 2 Front door 11 Reservoir 12 Hot water tank 13 Ice maker 14 Cooling water supply device 15 Extraction device 151 Bean canister 152 Coffee mill 153 Coffee brewer 154 Bean shooter 154a Bean introduction port 154b Bean discharge port 16 Powder raw material supply device 17 Cup conveyance Device 18 Cover member 18a Opening 18b Opening 181 Locking piece 19 Paddle C Cup

Claims (1)

A bean canister that contains beans as raw materials;
A mill for grinding the beans;
When the bean canister is detachably arranged between the bean canister and the bean canister, the bean is received from the bean canister through the bean introduction port, and the bean discharge port. In a vending machine comprising a bean shooter for charging beans into the mill, extracting the extracted beverage from the beans ground by the mill and the supplied hot water, and supplying the extracted beverage to a beverage container for sale.
The bean inlet has an opening area that allows a finger to enter,
When the bean shooter is mounted between the bean canister and the mill, a cover member is provided that closes the bean introduction port while allowing the bean to be discharged from the bean canister to the bean shooter. Vending machine featuring.

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