JP2012059095A - Cup type vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cup type vending machine capable of effectively preventing extra dripping of beverage off from a nozzle.SOLUTION: In a cup type vending machine: a powder raw material is sequentially provided from a powder raw material canister 32 to a cup C; at a position of a beverage stirrer 50, coffee liquid that has been brewed by a coffee brewer 36 is poured from a nozzle 39 to the cup C through a diffuser 40; then a stirring vane 51 of the beverage stirrer 50 descends and stirs a mixture of the powder raw material and coffee liquid to prepare coffee beverage; and the cup C holding the coffee beverage is delivered to a selling port 14 to be sold. The vending machine is provided with a stopper 43a that closes a coffee liquid outlet 41a of the diffuser 40 in association with lifting operation of the stirring vane 51 so that extra dripping of the beverage, or the dropping of the remaining coffee liquid from the nozzle 39, is prevented.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cup-type vending machine that transports a cup beverage prepared by stirring a powder raw material and a coffee liquid with a stirring blade to a sales outlet for sale.

  A cup transport device that grips and transports the cup supplied from the cup supply device, and the cup transport device transports the cup from the powder material canister to the sales outlet via the beverage agitator, and the cup prepared in the course of the transport Cup vending machines that sell beverages for sale are known. In this cup-type vending machine, when a powder raw material such as sugar or cream is introduced from a powder raw material canister into a cup conveyed by a cup conveying device and conveyed to the position of a beverage agitating device, the coffee liquid extracted by the coffee brewer Flows down the coffee liquid pipe and is injected from the nozzle, and the stirring blade is lowered to stir the powder raw material and the coffee liquid to prepare a coffee drink, and the prepared cup containing coffee drink is conveyed to the sales outlet (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-178518 A

  By the way, the coffee liquid extracted by this coffee brewer adheres and remains inside the coffee liquid conduit due to surface tension, etc., and this adhered and residual coffee liquid gradually flows down in the coffee liquid conduit and drops from the nozzle. There is a phenomenon of dripping, and such a phenomenon is called “sagging”.

  When the cup held by the cup transport device is transported from the position of the beverage agitator to the sales outlet, when this “sagging” occurs, the drops of beverage dripped from the nozzles are dropped on the outer wall surface of the cup or the cup. The trouble which adheres to a conveyance apparatus and becomes dirty occurs.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cup-type vending machine that can effectively prevent “sagging” of a beverage dripping from a nozzle.

In order to achieve the above object, a cup type vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention transports a cup held by a cup transport device to a beverage agitator position via a powder raw material supply device. In the course of the conveyance, the powder raw material is sequentially charged into the cup from the powder raw material supply device, and at the beverage stirring device position, the coffee liquid extracted by the coffee liquid extraction device is injected into the cup from the nozzle through the diffuser. In a cup-type vending machine in which a cup containing coffee beverage prepared by stirring the agitating blade of the beverage agitating device descending and stirring the powder raw material and the coffee liquid is conveyed to a sales outlet for sale ,
A stopper for closing the coffee liquid passage of the diffuser is provided in conjunction with the raising and lowering operation of the stirring blade.

  The cup-type vending machine according to claim 2 of the present invention is the cup-type vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the stopper closes the coffee liquid passage when the stirring blade is in the standby position, and the stirring blade is When lowered, the coffee liquid passage is opened.

  According to the invention of claim 1, the cup gripped by the cup transport device is transported to the beverage stirring device position via the powder raw material supply device, and the powder raw material is transferred from the powder raw material supply device in the course of the transport. The coffee liquid that is sequentially charged into the cup and extracted at the beverage agitator position is poured into the cup from the nozzle through the diffuser, and the agitation blade of the beverage agitator is lowered to the powder. In a cup-type vending machine in which a cup containing coffee beverage prepared by stirring the raw material and the coffee liquid is transported to a sales outlet for sale, the coffee in the diffuser is interlocked with the lifting and lowering operation of the stirring blade Providing a cup-type vending machine that can effectively prevent dripping of beverages dripping from nozzles by providing a stopper that closes the liquid passage Rukoto is possible.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the stopper closes the coffee liquid passage when the stirring blade is in the standby position, and opens the coffee liquid passage when the stirring blade is lowered, thereby providing coffee. It is possible to provide a cup-type vending machine that can reliably open and close the liquid passage.

Front schematic diagram of a cup-type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention Front view of the cup vending machine shown in Fig. 1 with the front door open The figure which shows the drink stirring apparatus and diffuser of the cup-type vending machine shown in FIG. Control block diagram of the cup type vending machine shown in FIG. Timing chart of the cup type vending machine shown in FIG. The figure which the coffee liquid channel of the diffuser shown in FIG. 3 was opened

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a cup type vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a cup type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the cup type vending machine shown in FIG.

  The cup-type vending machine 1 is a vending machine that prepares a beverage selected by a user by operating a beverage selection button and sells it in a cup. On the outer surface upper part of the front door 3 attached to the apparatus housing 2 (see FIG. 2) so as to be openable and closable, a plurality of beverage sample display parts 4 and a hot beverage selection button 5 provided for each beverage sample display part 4; An iced beverage selection button 6 and a poster panel 7 are provided. In addition, sugar / milk / coffee raw material increase / decrease button 8, coin insertion slot 9, coin return lever 10, bill insertion slot 11, deposit amount, hot water temperature, cooling water temperature, etc. are provided at the center of the outer surface of front door 3. When the display unit 12, the door lock 13, the sales port 14, the door plate opening / closing motor 15m (see FIG. 4) are driven, the door plate 15 that opens and closes the sales port 14 and the change return port 16 are arranged at the lower right. Has been.

  Inside the device housing 2, a plurality of cups C having the same shape (see FIG. 3) are stacked in a vertical direction and accommodated, and dispensed and supplied sequentially from the lowermost cup C, a cup supply device The cup holder 24 (see FIG. 3) that receives the cup C supplied from the cup 21 and the cup holding arm 25 (see FIG. 3) that holds the cup C barrel, and holds the cup C. , Cup transport device 22 that transports cup holding mechanism 23 that holds cup C, auger type ice making machine 31 that manufactures and stores chip ice used when selling iced beverages, powder raw materials such as sugar and cream Powder raw material canister (powder raw material supply device) 32, hot water tank 33 storing hot water used for beverage preparation, coffee bean canister containing roasted coffee beans The coffee beans supplied from the coffee beans canister 34 are ground into the ground beans by the mill 35, and the coffee brewer (coffee solution extraction device) 36 for extracting the coffee solution with the hot water supplied from the hot water tank 33 is supplied to the cup C. A beverage stirring device 50 that rotates and stirs and mixes the stirring blade 51 (see FIG. 3) inserted into the sugar, cream, coffee liquid, and the like is provided.

  FIG. 3 shows the diffuser 40 and the beverage stirring device 50 of the present invention. The beverage stirrer 50 includes a stirring blade 51 that stirs and mixes the powder raw material in the cup C and the coffee liquid, a stirring motor 53 that rotationally drives the stirring blade 51, a rotating shaft 52 that transmits the rotational force of the stirring motor 53 to the stirring blade 51, The lift base 54 is provided with a stirring motor 53, and the rack 55 is provided on the lift base 54.

  In the case 56 in which these are accommodated, a plurality of guide shafts 57 that guide the raising and lowering of the elevating base 54 are provided through the guide holes 54 a provided in the elevating base 54, and the elevating and lowering attached to the case 56. A spur gear 59 attached to the output shaft of the speed reducer 58 a that reduces the number of rotations of the motor 58 meshes with a rack 55 attached to the lift base 54.

  Further, a diffuser 40 is provided adjacent to the beverage stirring device 50. The coffee brewer 36 for extracting the coffee liquid is generally provided with an extraction container, a filter, a filter block, and a valve mechanism for opening and closing the upper end opening of the extraction container. The extraction container is referred to as a so-called cylinder, has a cylindrical shape with both upper and lower end surfaces opened, and air inlets for supplying air to the inside are provided above and below. A filter is arrange | positioned in the aspect which obstruct | occludes the lower end opening of an extraction container, for example, the thing made from paper is applied. The filter block is a bottomed cylindrical container that is fitted into the lower end opening of the extraction container via a filter and has a coffee liquid delivery passage at the inner bottom.

  In order to extract the coffee liquid with the coffee brewer 36, first, a filter block is attached to the lower end opening of the extraction container through a filter, and then the upper end opening of the extraction container is opened by a valve mechanism. The ground coffee beans are charged from the top opening and hot hot water stored in the hot water tank and heated by the heater is supplied. Then, air is supplied to the mixed liquid of the ground coffee beans and hot water from the lower air inlet to perform stirring. As a result of supplying air to the mixed solution of ground coffee beans and warm water and stirring, flavor and umami are drawn from the ground coffee beans to the warm water. After that, when the upper end opening of the extraction container is closed by a valve mechanism and air is supplied from the upper air inlet to the upper space of the mixed liquid stored in the extraction container in this state, the air pressure supplied to the extraction container Due to the (extraction pressure), the coffee liquid filtered through the filter is delivered to the filter block, and is supplied from the nozzle through the coffee liquid delivery passage to the cup through the coffee liquid conduit.

  Thus, the extraction of the coffee liquid supplies air to the upper space of the mixed liquid of ground coffee beans and hot water stored in the extraction container, and the hot water from the ground coffee beans is supplied by the air pressure supplied to the extraction container. The coffee liquid from which the flavor and umami are drawn is filtered through a filter.

  However, when the coffee liquid is pushed out from the mixed liquid of ground coffee beans and hot water by air pressure, and the extraction of the coffee liquid is completed, the air that has passed through the coffee grinder and the filter is vigorously released from the nozzle through the coffee liquid conduit. If the pressurized air is released from the nozzle vigorously, the coffee liquid spouts from the nozzle tip opening, and the coffee liquid scatters on the inner wall surface of the cup, resulting in poor appearance. In addition, if the coffee liquid jumps out of the cup, it may adhere to the outer wall surface of the cup or the cup transport device, but it is possible to prevent such problems by opening the air pressure (extraction pressure) into the diffuser 40. Therefore, a diffuser 40 is provided between the coffee brewer 36 and the nozzle 39.

  As described above, the coffee brewer 36 and the diffuser 40 are communicated with each other via the coffee liquid conduit 37, and the diffuser 40 and the nozzle 39 are communicated with each other via the coffee liquid conduit 38, so that the coffee brewer 36 is communicated via the diffuser 40. In this way, the nozzle 39 communicates.

  The diffuser 40 includes a case main body 41 having a coffee liquid outlet (coffee liquid passage) 41a at the lower end, a case lid 42 arranged in a manner to close the upper end opening of the case main body 41, a coffee liquid inlet 42a of the case lid 42, The stopper 43 is provided at the lower end of the stopper shaft 43. When a downward pressing force is applied, the stopper 43a closes the coffee liquid outlet 41a, and is placed between the spring fixing piece 43b and the spring fixing piece 45 provided on the stopper shaft 43. The stopper drive plate 46 is supported by an extension spring 44 and a shaft 47.

  When the elevating base 54 is in the standby position (uppermost position) together with the stirring blade 51, one end (the left end in FIG. 3) of the stopper driving plate 46 is pivotally supported by the shaft 47 and pushed up by the elevating base 54. The other end (the right end in FIG. 3) of the plug drive plate 46 that is pivotally supported by is pushed down by extending the extension spring 44, thereby pushing down the spring fixing piece 43b. When the stopper driving plate 46 rotates clockwise about the shaft 47 and the spring fixing piece 43b is pushed down, the stopper 43a provided at the lower end of the stopper shaft 43 closes the coffee liquid outlet 41a.

  When the elevating base 54 is lowered together with the stirring blade 51, as shown in FIG. 6, one of the plug drive plates 46 (the left end in FIG. 6) is released from the elevating base 54 and is supported by the shaft 47. The other plug drive plate 46 (the right end in FIG. 6) is also opened. When the other end of the plug driving plate 46 is opened, the spring fixing piece 43b is pulled up by the pulling force of the extension spring 44. When the spring fixing piece 43b is pulled up, the plug 43a provided at the lower end of the plug shaft 43 opens the coffee liquid outlet 41a.

  FIG. 4 shows a control block diagram of the cup-type vending machine 1, and the control unit 90 that controls the preparation of beverages in the cup-type vending machine 1 stores a CPU 91 as a central processing unit and a control program for the CPU 91. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 92, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 93 that stores various programs and data necessary for the control of the CPU 91, and a clock generated by a reference clock generator (not shown). It comprises a timer 94 that counts various times and a power supply unit 95 having a power circuit that supplies power to each device provided in the cup type vending machine 1.

  Further, the controller 90 includes a keyboard 96 for inputting various setting data of the cup type vending machine 1, a hot beverage selection button 5 for selecting a beverage to be purchased by a user, an iced beverage selection button 6, and a rotation of an elevating motor 58. An encoder 58b that detects the number and outputs a rotational speed signal is connected.

  Furthermore, a door plate opening / closing motor 15m that is provided at the sales outlet 14 and that electrically opens and closes the door plate 15; a stirring motor 53 that rotationally drives the stirring blade 51; a lifting motor 58 that lifts and lowers a lifting base 54 to which the stirring motor 53 is attached; Is connected.

  In the cup-type vending machine 1 described above, when a user inserts a coin into the coin insertion slot 9 and presses a hot beverage selection button 6, for example, a button for selecting hot coffee, the control unit 90 prepares hot coffee. Signal for output. In response to the signal output from the controller 90, first, the cup transport device 22 sequentially transports the cup holding mechanism 23 holding the cup C supplied from the cup supply device 21 to each position of the powder raw material canister 32. A predetermined amount of each powder raw material (for example, sugar, cream) is sequentially charged from the powder raw material canister 32 to the cup C held by the cup holding mechanism 23. When the powder raw material necessary for preparing a beverage in the cup C is charged from the powder raw material canister 32, the cup conveying device 22 conveys the cup C held by the cup holding mechanism 23 to a position directly below the beverage stirring device 50. And stop (see FIG. 5A).

  When the cup C is transported to a position immediately below the beverage agitator 50 and stopped, the control unit 90 rotates the lifting motor 58, and the rack that meshes with the spur gear 59 when the spur gear 59 decelerated by the speed reducer 58a rotates forward. 55 goes down. When the rack 55 is lowered, the stirring blade 51 is lowered into the cup C along with the lifting base 54 along the guide shaft 57. When the stirring blade 51 is lowered to a predetermined stirring position (the bottom of the cup C shown in FIG. 6), the control unit 90 stops the lifting motor 58 based on the rotation number signal of the lifting motor 58 output from the encoder 58b. When the elevating base 54 is lowered together with the stirring blade 51, one end (left end in FIG. 6) of the plug driving plate 46 is released from the elevating base 54, so that the other of the plug driving plate 46 supported by the shaft 47 (FIG. The right end of 6) is also opened. When the other end of the plug driving plate 46 is opened, the spring fixing piece 43b is pulled up by the pulling force of the extension spring 44. When the spring fixing piece 43b is pulled up, the stopper 43a provided at the lower end of the stopper shaft 43 opens the coffee liquid outlet 41a (see FIGS. 5B and 6).

  At the same time, the coffee liquid is extracted by the coffee brewer 36. The coffee liquid extracted by the coffee brewer 36 flows through the coffee liquid conduit 37 and flows into the diffuser 40 from the coffee liquid inlet 42a. The coffee liquid flowing into the diffuser 40 flows through the coffee liquid conduit 38 from the coffee liquid outlet 41a with the plug 43a opened, and is poured from the nozzle 39 to the cup C (see FIGS. 5C and 6).

  When the stirring blade 51 is lowered to a predetermined stirring position and the elevating motor 58 is stopped, the stirring motor 53 is rotated to rotate the stirring raw material 53 (for example, coffee and sugar) and the coffee liquid charged into the cup C into the stirring blade 51. To prepare hot coffee in which each powder raw material is dissolved in the coffee liquid (see FIGS. 5D and 6).

  Next, the elevating motor 58 is rotated in the opposite direction to the previous direction to raise the elevating base 54 and the stirring blade 51. When the elevating base 54 rises to the standby position (uppermost position) together with the stirring blade 51, one of the stopper drive plates 46 (left end in FIG. 3) is supported by the shaft 47 and pushed up by the elevating base 54. The other of the supported plug drive plates 46 (the right end in FIG. 3) is pushed down by extending the extension spring 44, thereby pushing down the spring fixing piece 43b. When the stopper driving plate 46 rotates clockwise about the shaft 47 and the spring fixing piece 43b is pushed down, the stopper 43a provided at the lower end of the stopper shaft 43 closes the coffee liquid outlet 41a. By closing the coffee liquid outlet 41a with the stopper 43a, the coffee liquid adheres and remains inside the coffee liquid conduit 37 and the diffuser 40 due to surface tension and the like. It is possible to effectively prevent “sagging” of the beverage flowing down the pipe line 38 and dripping from the nozzle 39. Thus, when the cup C held by the cup holding mechanism 23 of the cup transport device 22 is transported from the position of the beverage agitating device 50 to the sales outlet 14, the beverage can be transferred to the outer wall surface of the cup C or the cup transport device 22. It is possible to solve the problem that “sagging” adheres. (See FIGS. 5E and 3).

  When the elevating motor 58 is reversed to raise the elevating base 54 and the stirring blade 51 to the standby position, the cup holding mechanism 23 holding the cup C with the hot coffee prepared by operating the cup conveying device 22 is sold. 14 (see FIG. 5F).

  Then, the elevator motor 58 is rotated forward and backward, the elevator base 54 and the stirring blade 51 are lowered and raised to open and close the coffee liquid outlet 41a, and remain attached to the coffee liquid pipe 37 and the diffuser 40. The coffee liquid is discharged from the nozzle 39 to a waste liquid part (not shown) (see FIG. 5G).

  When the cup holding mechanism 23 holding the cup C prepared with hot coffee is transported to the sales opening 14, the door plate opening / closing motor 15m is driven to move the door plate 15, and the sales opening 14 opens. When the cup C in which hot coffee is prepared by the user is taken out and the door plate opening / closing motor 15m is driven to move the door plate 15, the opening of the sales outlet 14 is closed.

  As described above, according to the cup-type vending machine 1 of the present embodiment, the cup C held by the cup holding mechanism 23 of the cup transport device 22 is passed through the powder raw material canister 32 of the beverage agitating device 50. In the course of the transfer, the powder raw material is sequentially put into the cup C from the powder raw material canister 32, and the coffee liquid extracted by the coffee brewer 36 is passed through the diffuser 40 at the position of the beverage stirring device 50. The cup C containing coffee beverage prepared by stirring the stirring blade 51 of the beverage stirring device 50 and stirring the powdered raw material and the coffee liquid is conveyed to the sales outlet 14 for sale. In the cup type vending machine 1, a plug 43 a that closes the coffee liquid outlet 41 a of the diffuser 40 in conjunction with the raising and lowering operation of the stirring blade 51 is provided. As a result, the coffee liquid adheres and remains inside the coffee liquid conduit 37 and the diffuser 40 due to surface tension and the like, and the remaining coffee liquid gradually flows down in the coffee liquid conduit 38 from the nozzle 39. It is possible to effectively prevent the “dripping” of the dripping beverage. Thus, when the cup C held by the cup holding mechanism 23 of the cup transport device 22 is transported from the position of the beverage agitating device 50 to the sales outlet 14, the beverage can be transferred to the outer wall surface of the cup C or the cup transport device 22. It is possible to solve the problem that “sagging” adheres.

  Further, the stopper 43a closes the coffee liquid outlet 41a when the stirring blade 51 is in the standby position, and opens the coffee liquid outlet 41a when the stirring blade 51 is lowered, so that the coffee liquid outlet 41a is surely provided. A cup type vending machine 1 that can be opened and closed can be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cup type vending machine 2 Equipment case 5 Hot drink selection button 6 Ice drink selection button 14 Sales outlet 21 Cup supply apparatus 22 Cup conveyance apparatus 23 Cup holding mechanism 32 Powder raw material canister (powder raw material supply apparatus)
36 Coffee brewer (coffee liquid extraction device)
39 Nozzle 40 Diffuser 41 Case body 41a Coffee liquid outlet (coffee liquid passage)
43 stopper shaft 43a stopper 50 beverage stirring device 51 stirring blade 53 stirring motor 54 lifting base 58 lifting motor C cup

Claims (2)

The cup gripped by the cup transport device is transported to the beverage agitator position via the powder raw material supply device, and the powder raw material is sequentially put into the cup from the powder raw material supply device in the course of the transport, and the beverage At the stirring device position, the coffee liquid extracted by the coffee liquid extraction device is injected into the cup from the nozzle through the diffuser, and the stirring blade of the beverage stirring device is lowered to stir the powder material and the coffee liquid. In cup-type vending machines where cups containing coffee beverages prepared in the above are transported to the sales outlet and offered for sale,
A cup type vending machine comprising a stopper for closing the coffee liquid passage of the diffuser in conjunction with the raising and lowering operation of the stirring blade.   The cup-type vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the stopper closes the coffee liquid passage when the stirring blade is in a standby position, and opens the coffee liquid passage when the stirring blade is lowered. Machine.