JP2017110178A5 - - Google Patents

Description

Ink for printing on foam, method for managing expiration date of the ink, ink cartridge for the ink, ink jet printer using the ink, coffee server with the ink jet printer, coffee beverage reservation system and image print service system

    The present invention relates to an ink for printing on a foam, a method for managing the expiration date of the ink, an ink cartridge for the ink, an ink jet printer using the ink, a coffee server with the ink jet printer, a coffee beverage reservation system and an image printing service The present invention relates to a system, and in particular to printing on the surface of top foam or the like (foam) such as beverages.

    One type of coffee beverage is Caffe Latte, which has steam milk (milk bubbled with milk) placed on top of the coffee beverage poured out in a container such as a cup. Since the foam of steam milk is white, the art (latte art) drawing designs such as letters and patterns is poured in recent years by pouring coffee liquid etc. into the foam through the spout of the pitcher, and this is specialized There are also varistors that

    However, conventional latte art draws a design with a hand holding the pitcher on the top of the coffee foam filled in the container, so it takes time to finish drawing on one latte, so it can meet many demands. Absent. Also, since it is a manual operation, the drawing accuracy is naturally limited, and the design is a relatively simple form such as a heart mark, a star, a flower outline, a geometric pattern or a cloud pattern.

    On the other hand, the latte art which prints a design using an inkjet printer is proposed by the coffee latte which was squeezed out to a container with a coffee server (patent documents 1, 2). Latte art using an ink jet printer, unlike manual latte art, has the feature of being able to select arbitrary image data and print a design (image) in a short time without restriction of accuracy.

JP-A-2010-508562 JP-A-2014-502751

    However, since the conventional ink jet printer for latte art prints on a drink café latte, the ink used must be an edible ink, but the edible ink used conventionally is a synthetic ink containing an artificial coloring agent It is. And, the edible synthetic ink has the same viscosity as that of the non-edible ink traditionally used in ink jet printers, for example, 2.9 to 5.5 mPa · s (millipascal centipoise) (patented Reference 1). Therefore, there were the following problems.

    First, although tar dyes are often used in synthetic inks, it is pointed out that tar dyes have toxicity such as carcinogenicity, so latte-arted caffelate is healthy when it is drunk It is feared that it will be harmed, and it tends to be avoided.

    In addition, because the synthetic ink is highly saturated, the design printed on the drink café latte is so bright and poisonous that the customer is less willing to drink the latte or resists drinking I feel a feeling. The use of natural colorants such as caramel as suitable edible dyes is described in US Pat.

    Moreover, since the viscosity of the conventionally used edible synthetic ink is relatively low, the ink jetted from the nozzle of the ink jet printer flows without being fixed on the surface of the foam under the influence of the surface tension of the foam of the steam milk. Tend. Therefore, the printed image blurs on the surface of the café latte and the sharpness is gradually lost. Therefore, for example, even if the design of the photograph of the face is printed, it is blurred, and it has not been possible to produce a latte art that the orderer can satisfy.

    In an ink jet printer, as means for supplying ink to the print head, the ink is injected into the ink bottle and supplied from the ink bottle to the print head through the tube (ink bottle system) and the ink is enclosed in the ink cartridge There is a device (ink cartridge type) that supplies ink directly from the ink cartridge to the print head.

    The ink bottle system has an advantage of low printing cost because the ink bottle can be used repeatedly without using a dedicated ink cartridge which is a consumable product. However, when the ink is an edible ink, the edible ink is exposed to air when the edible ink is poured into the ink bottle, and therefore the edible ink is contaminated or deteriorated with bacteria and the like. There is a risk of adversely affecting the hygiene of the printed matter. Therefore, the use period (lifetime) of the edible ink in the case of the ink bottle method is about 3 to 4 months.

    In the ink cartridge system, since the ink is sealed, when the ink is an edible ink (an ink cartridge for edible ink is unknown at the time of the present application application), there is almost no contamination due to air contact and the edible ink The quality of edible ink is stable, so the life of edible ink is considered to be extended to six months or more. However, when the edible ink contains a natural pigment, it is not possible to completely avoid the deterioration of quality due to the use period.

    Generally, in order to prevent the expiration of the expiration date, the printer operator records the loading date of the ink cartridge loaded in the printer on a note paper or the like and keeps it on occasion, and sometimes sees the calendar, and the progress from the loading date Monitor whether the number of days has reached the expiration date. Therefore, since it is possible to overlook overpassing of the deadline, overpassing of the expiration date of the ink is performed in a printer which prints on food using an ink cartridge containing an ink containing an edible natural pigment. It is required to prevent the

    The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, the object (first object) of the present invention is an ink for printing a design on the surface of foam on the upper surface of a beverage or the like using an ink jet printer, which is non-toxic and is too vivid and poisonous Another object is to provide a edible ink capable of printing a design with high precision with a soft color.

    Another object (second object) of the present invention is an ink use expiration date management method capable of automatically managing the expiration date of the edible ink in an ink jet printer for printing a design on the surface of foam on the upper surface of a beverage etc. To provide.

    Still another object (third object) of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge suitable for using the above ink expiration date management method.

    Yet another object (fourth object) of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer capable of clearly printing latte art having a soft color, not too bright and poisonous color, on the surface of the upper foam such as a beverage. To provide a printer.

    Still another object (fifth object) of the present invention is to consistently produce clear prints (latte art) of a design having a soft color on the surface of bubbles on the upper surface of the released cafe lattes To provide a coffee server with an ink jet printer that can be performed.

    Still another object (sixth object) of the present invention is to provide a coffee beverage reservation system capable of reserving, to a store, the dispensing of a café latte in which a customer-selected image is clearly printed on the surface of a foam. is there.

Still another object (seventh object), the image printing service system image overlooking the print from a mobile terminal such as a smart phone sends to the store, so as to receive the goods printed with the image has spread in recent years of the present invention To provide.

    An edible ink according to the present invention for achieving the first object is for printing a predetermined design by an ink jet printer on a foam produced on the surface of a container such as a café latte or a beverage such as beer filled with the ink. An edible ink comprising an edible natural pigment and having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 mPa · s.

    As the edible natural pigment, for example, gardenia red pigment, safflower red pigment, safflower yellow pigment, gardenia blue pigment and the like can be used. The surface tension of the edible ink is preferably 28.0 to 34.0 mN / m. Furthermore, the pH of the edible ink is preferably in the range of 6.9 to 7.7.

    One of the ink expiration date management methods according to the present invention for achieving the second object starts counting the number of days elapsed when the ink cartridge filled with the edible ink is mounted to an ink jet printer, and the counted progress It is judged whether or not the number of days has approached the expiration date (the expiration date of the usable period) of the edible ink, and when it is determined that the days have approached, it is basically informed to that effect.

    A method for specifically realizing the above ink expiration date management method is that an inkjet printer is provided with a detector for detecting attachment of an ink cartridge, and an arithmetic control unit (CPU) controls the inkjet printer based on a detection signal from the detector. The attachment date is read from the calendar, and the expiration date (usable period) set for edible ink is read from the memory, and the elapsed days counted by the elapsed day counting means and the usable period of the edible ink are determined Based on the signal output when the determination means determines that the former approaches the latter within a predetermined value after comparison by means, notification is performed by the notification means.

    A printer using this ink expiration date management method prints a predetermined design on a beverage or the like having a foam on the top, filled in a container, using an ink cartridge containing an edible ink containing a natural pigment. In an inkjet printer, (a) means for automatically detecting the mounting date (or mounting date and time) when the mounting is detected when the ink cartridge is mounted on the printer, and (b) the mounting date (or mounting) A means for measuring the number of days elapsed (and elapsed time) from the date and time, and (c) a means for storing in advance the expiration date (or life) of the edible ink filled in the ink cartridge mounted on the printer And (d) comparing the elapsed days measured for the ink cartridge installed in the printer with the expiration date (or life) stored for the ink cartridge, The means for determining whether or not the due date (or life) is approaching, and (e) when the means for determining determines that the due date (or life) is approaching, the due date (or life) approaches. And means for notifying the user that the user is doing something.

Another one of the ink expiration date management methods according to the present invention for achieving the second object is reading the expiration date of the edible ink from the recording of the ink cartridge by the reading means, and the ink expiration date read by the judging means When it is determined that the current day has approached within the predetermined value of the expiration date in comparison with the calendar of (1), the notification means notifies.
(A) The first method for realizing this ink expiration date management method is printing a barcode representing the expiration date of edible ink on the ink cartridge, providing a barcode reader on the ink cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet printer, and When the cartridge is loaded into the ink cartridge loading unit, the barcode of the ink cartridge is read, and the read expiration date is compared with the calendar of the ink jet printer and the determination means, and it is determined that the current day is within the predetermined value of the expiration date. The notification means is to make a notification based on the signal output when the means makes a determination.
(B) The second method for realizing the above-mentioned method for managing the expiration date of the ink is to attach an IC chip or an RFID tag for transmitting a signal indicating the expiration date of the edible ink to the ink cartridge and It is equipped with a micro communication device that communicates with the IC chip or RFID tag in a contact or non-contact or wireless manner, and can receive from the IC chip or RFID tag when the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion of the inkjet printer The expiration date of the food ink is compared with the calendar of the ink jet printer by the determination means, and the notification means is notified by the notification means based on the signal output when the determination means determines that the current day has come within the predetermined value of the expiration date. .

    In one form of the ink cartridge according to the present invention for achieving the third object, a label printed with a barcode representing the expiration date (life) of the ink filled in the ink cartridge is attached at a predetermined position on the outer surface of the cartridge body It is characterized by having done. The ink jet printer using this ink cartridge is equipped with a bar code reader for reading the bar code of the ink cartridge mounted in the ink cartridge mounting portion.

    Another aspect of the ink cartridge according to the present invention for achieving the third object is that an IC chip or an RFID tag transmitting information indicating the expiration date of the edible ink is attached to a predetermined position on the outer surface of the cartridge body. It features. The ink jet printer using this ink cartridge is equipped with a receiver for receiving information from the IC chip of the ink cartridge in a contact or non-contact manner, or a receiver for wireless communication with the RFID tag of the ink cartridge.

    In order to achieve the fourth object, the printer according to the present invention prints a design by jetting edible ink from a nozzle based on image data on the surface of foam such as caffe latte steam milk filled in a container An ink jet printer for performing a latte art or the like, comprising: a fixed mounting table for mounting the container in a replaceable manner; and the nozzle moved in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction with respect to the mounting table. The edible ink having a print head and jetted from its nozzle is characterized in that it contains an edible natural pigment having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12. In the case of this ink jet printer, after placing a container in which a cafe latte or the like is poured in a coffee server independent of the ink jet printer, printing of the printer is started after placing the container on the mounting table of the ink jet printer.

    A printer according to another aspect of the present invention is an ink jet printer for printing a predetermined design with edible ink on foam produced on a surface such as a cafe latte or beer filled in a container, A mounting table on which the container is mounted, a print head provided at a position higher than the container mounted on the mounting table, and at least one of the mounting table and the print head a printing position and a non-printing position A feed mechanism for relatively moving them, an ink supply unit for supplying edible ink to the print head, a design data storage unit for storing data of a design printed by the print head, and a control device described later And an input unit for selecting a design stored in the design data storage unit and inputting a print start instruction, and the ink supply unit An ink cartridge containing an edible dye and containing an edible ink having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 mPa · s is used, and the control device is a signal for selecting a design from the input unit and a print start command Based on the input of the signal, the transfer mechanism is controlled, and the selected design is generated using the edible ink of the ink cartridge with respect to bubbles generated in the container placed on the mounting table. It is characterized in that the printing is performed by the printing head.

    The design data storage unit stores (a) image data captured from a connected digital camera, (a) stores image data read from a UBS memory, (c) smart phone, etc. (E) may store image data transmitted via the Internet, or (d) may store image data downloaded via the Internet. When the design data storage unit is the above (c) or (d), the inkjet printer is provided with a communication device for receiving image data from a smart phone or a server.

    In order to achieve the fifth object, the coffee server with an ink jet printer according to the present invention pours a cafe latte into a container such as a cup and combines the ink jet printer with a coffee server that generates steam milk bubbles on the upper surface of the cafe latte. The coffee server has a mounting table for mounting the container, and the coffee server dispenses the cafe latte onto the container mounted on the mounting table when the mounting table is in a predetermined position, and the ink jet printer A print head provided at a position higher than a container placed on the mounting table, an ink supply unit for supplying edible ink to the print head, and design data storage for storing data of a design to be printed by the print head Select the design stored in the design data storage unit via the control unit and And an input unit for inputting a print start command, and the ink supply unit uses an ink cartridge containing a edible edible dye and containing an edible ink having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 mPa · s. There is a first position where the mounting table can be mounted on and removed from the mounting table, a second position in which the container placed on the mounting table is located below the coffee bottle outlet, and the mounting table is mounted on the mounting table A container moving mechanism for moving the container to a third position located below the print head, and the control device receives a signal for selecting a design from an input unit and an input of an ejection start command signal Controlling the mounting table moving mechanism based on the printing head using the edible ink of the ink cartridge and printing the selected design on the bubbles generated in the container mounted on the mounting table so And wherein the Rukoto.

    The mounting table moving mechanism moves the mounting table from the first position to the second position based on the input of the start signal, and performs the loading completion signal output when the coffee server finishes the serving operation of the cafe latte. It has a horizontal movement mechanism which moves the table from the second position to the third position and moves the table from the third position to the first position based on a print end signal output when the ink jet printer has finished printing on the container. It features.

    In the mounting table moving mechanism, the height of the opening surface of the container placed on the mounting table before the mounting table reaches the third position secures a predetermined gap with the lower surface of the print head of the ink jet printer And a vertical movement mechanism for adjusting the height of the mounting table.

    According to the above configuration, after placing an empty container on the mounting table at the first position of the coffee server, when the extraction start command signal is input, the mounting table is automatically moved, and the café latte at the second position From the delivery to the third position, imaging of the surface of the foam of the café's steam milk by the ink jet printer (Latte art) is automatically performed by the ink jet printer, and the container filled with the latte arted coffee beverage is at the first position. Will be returned to

The first coffee beverage reservation system capable of achieving the sixth object has a reservation acceptance device, an ink jet printer to which reservation data is given from the reservation acceptance device, and an independent coffee server.
The reservation acceptance device includes an input unit for selecting at least one of a digital camera, an SD card, a USB memory, a portable terminal as an image data acquisition destination, and an image data acquisition unit for acquiring image data from the selected image data acquisition destination; A display unit for displaying the image using the captured image data, an input unit for giving a confirmation signal when the displayed image is intended, and image data of the image displayed based on the confirmation signal An image data storage unit for storing, and a transmission unit for transmitting image data stored in the image data storage unit to the ink jet printer based on the confirmation signal;
An ink jet printer prints a design on the surface of the foam of the latte using the image data transmitted from the reservation reception machine when the container from which the café latte is extracted by the coffee server is placed under the print head. It is characterized by being.

    The image data storage unit includes a standard design storage unit in which a standard design is stored in advance, and a personal design storage unit for storing image data acquired from an image data acquisition destination, and the image data storage unit responds to the operation of the image selection unit. The image data of the standard design storage unit and the personal design storage unit are displayed on the display unit in a predetermined order, and the image data of the image being displayed when the confirmation signal is input is transmitted to the ink jet printer Is preferred.

    The reservation acceptance unit has a communication function to communicate with the portable terminal, and when the communication line is connected to the portable terminal, the identification code of the portable terminal is acquired and stored and reserved. Designation of the type of coffee beverage and specification of the desired design for printing as well as requesting confirmation of the specified reservation content, and performing or canceling coffee beverage brew only, or coffee beverage brew and design printing It is desirable to perform a reservation acceptance process for requesting a reply. Also, when a response indicating execution is input, reservation data including identification code, designated coffee beverage type or designated coffee beverage type and designated design image data is created and reserved It is preferred to transmit the data to an inkjet printer.

A second coffee beverage reservation system capable of achieving the sixth object has a reservation reception machine and a coffee server with an ink jet printer to which reservation data is given from the reservation reception machine.
The reservation acceptance device includes an input unit for selecting at least one of a digital camera, an SD card, a USB memory, a portable terminal as an image data acquisition destination, and an image data acquisition unit for acquiring image data from the selected image data acquisition destination A display unit for displaying the image using the captured image data, an input unit for giving a confirmation signal when the displayed image is intended, and image data of the image displayed based on the confirmation signal An image data storage unit for storing the image data, and a transmission unit for transmitting the image data stored in the image data storage unit to the coffee server with an ink jet printer based on the confirmation signal,
The coffee server with an inkjet printer consists of a coffee server and an inkjet printer installed close to each other, and the coffee server is below the coffee bottle outlet by the automatic brewing mechanism based on the input of the start start signal from the reservation reception machine The container has a container moving mechanism for drawing at least a cafe latte into a container in which it is placed and subsequently moving the container from below the coffee bottle outlet to below the print head of the ink jet printer, the ink jet printer using the print head It is characterized in that the reserved design is printed on the surface of the foam of latte in the container based on the reservation data given by the reservation reception machine, and the container is moved to a position where the container moving mechanism can receive the container. I assume.

    The mounting table moving mechanism has a mounting table on which the container is to be mounted, and moves the mounting table from the first position to the second position based on the input of the start signal, and the coffee server finishes the operation of the cafe latte. The mounting table is moved from the second position to the third position based on the output completion signal, and the mounting table is moved from the third position to the first position based on the printing completion signal output when the ink jet printer has finished printing on the container. It is characterized by having a horizontal movement mechanism which moves.

    In the mounting table moving mechanism, the height of the opening surface of the container placed on the mounting table before the mounting table reaches the third position secures a predetermined gap with the lower surface of the print head of the ink jet printer And a vertical movement mechanism for adjusting the height of the mounting table.

    The container moving mechanism has a mounting table on which the container is placed, and the first position where the container can be placed and removed from the mounting table, and the container placed on the mounting table is located below the coffee server outlet of the coffee server The second position is moved between a second position and a third position in which the container placed on the mounting table is located below the print head.

    The first image print service system capable of achieving the seventh object comprises (a) store equipment installed in a store and a portable terminal used by a customer, and (b) the store equipment comprising: A store clerk operation terminal, a server, and an ink jet printer for food printing; (c) the portable terminal has a function of uploading image data of an image to be printed to the server using a predetermined application (D) The server has a function of storing the image data uploaded from the mobile terminal, assigning a reception number to the mobile terminal, and notifying the mobile terminal of the reception number. (E) The mobile terminal has a function of displaying the reception number notified from the server, and (f) the clerk operation terminal receives the reception number from the server. Has a function of reading out the image data corresponding to the reception number and displaying the image, and (g) the terminal for clerk operation inputs a print command under the condition that the displayed image is confirmed by the customer At the same time, it has a function of sending the displayed image data to the ink jet printer.

    The second image print service system capable of achieving the seventh object comprises (a) store facilities installed in a plurality of stores and mobile terminals used by customers, and (b) the store facilities The store facility of any store has the same configuration, and a store clerk operation terminal connected to an internet circuit, a web server provided on the internet, and the store clerk operation terminal or the WEB server (C) the portable terminal has a function of uploading image data of an image to be printed to the web server, and (d) the web server is the portable terminal. Stores the uploaded image data, assigns a reception number to the mobile terminal, and assigns the reception number to the image data. (E) The portable terminal has a function to display the reception number notified from the WEB server, and (f) the clerk operation terminal has When the reception number is input, it has a function of reading out the image data corresponding to the reception number from the web server and displaying the image; (g) the clerk terminal or the web server It has a function of transmitting image data of the displayed image to the ink jet printer when a print command is input under the condition that the customer displayed the image displayed on the clerk operation terminal. , It is characterized.

    According to the present invention (claim 1), since the edible ink for printing a predetermined design by an ink jet printer contains a natural edible dye, unlike synthetic dyes, it has no toxicity and is suitable for the foam of coffee beverages. The color of the design to be formed is soft and makes the viewer feel at ease. In addition, the natural edible dye having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 improves the fixability of the dye to the surface of the foam of the coffee beverage, so that the design formed in the foam, for example, a photograph or the like is not blurred. It can print with high accuracy.

    According to the present invention (claims 3, 4, and 6), notification is made when the expiration date approaches, so that the expiration date of the edible ink containing the natural edible dye in the ink cartridge can be automatically managed. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the expiration of the expiration date.

According to the present invention (claim 5), when the ink cartridge is mounted to the ink jet printer, notification is automatically given when the expiration date of the edible ink in the ink cartridge approaches. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the expiration of the expiration date.
More specifically, simply loading a predetermined cartridge into the printer automatically reads or receives the expiration date of the edible ink in the cartridge, and displays or notifies that the expiration date is approaching. Because the printer is replaced with a new cartridge based on the indication or notification, the usage period is prevented from being overlooked by being left in a state where the number of operation of the printer is small and the usage amount of edible ink is small. . Therefore, the reliability of food hygiene management of the food and drink whose design is printed on the foam is increased.

    In addition, since the expiration date of the cartridge mounted in the printer is automatically managed, and that effect is displayed or notified when the expiration date approaches, the printer operator does not take time for management and is not It is possible to prevent the expiration of the expiration date due to caution. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of food hygiene problems of printed food and drink.

    According to the present invention (claims 7, 8 and 9), the container into which the cafe latte or the like is injected by another device is placed on the mounting table of the printer, and the foam on the top surface of the beverage etc. in the container is finely divided. It is possible to provide a printer capable of printing a clear design. The inkjet printer according to the present invention is present on the upper surface of a beverage or the like filled in a container from a print head using an ink cartridge containing an edible ink containing edible natural pigment and having a viscosity of 6 to 12 mPa · s. Since the edible ink is jetted onto the foam to print a predetermined design, it is possible to produce a latte art having a non-toxic, gentle color and high-precision design.

    According to the present invention (claim 8), in the coffee server, from coffee brewing to design printing is performed consistently, the time from order reception to product provision can be short, and large demand can be met. At the same time, customers are obliged to be satisfied because the design to be printed is clear.

    According to the present invention (claim 17), the image selected by the user from the portable terminal in the WiFi environment in the store is transmitted, and the product on which the image is printed in the store, for example, a latte with latte art is received Because you can do it, the product reception will be fun.

    According to the present invention (claim 18), as long as the store has introduced the same system, the store to which the image is selected may be received at the store to which the image is transmitted. As it is also possible to receive at stores other than, it gives the commodity receiving place freedom.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main configuration of an ink jet printer using an ink management method according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing an example of composition of an ink jet printer which prints latte art. It is a figure which shows an example of the mounting base moving mechanism of an inkjet printer. It is a figure which shows an example of the arrangement | positioning state of the independent coffee server and the inkjet printer which prints latte art. It is a flowchart explaining the effect | action of the mounting base moving mechanism of the inkjet printer of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of a print routine of FIG. 5; It is a side view which shows the structure of the mounting base moving mechanism of the coffee server with an inkjet printer. It is a flow chart explaining an operation of a coffee server with an ink jet printer. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the reservation system of a store reservation system. It is a figure which shows the other example of a structure of the reservation system of a store reservation system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the reservation reception machine in FIG. 9 and FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the reservation data produced by a reservation reception machine. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the function implementation means of the control part of FIG. 11A. It is a flow chart which shows a part of operation of a reservation acceptance machine which performs outside store reservation acceptance. It is a flow chart which shows an operation flow of reservation acceptance processing of a reservation acceptance machine in out-of-store reservation. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement flow of the reservation execution process in the off-store reservation. It is a table | surface which shows the form of the coffee server which can be implemented in this invention generally. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the components and arrangement of some of the coffee servers in FIG. 15; FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of an independent type image print service system. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the portable terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the display content of the display part of the portable terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the display content of the display part of the portable terminal of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the terminal for shop assistant operation of the shop of FIG. It is a flowchart of the download of the application by the server of FIG. It is a flowchart of the image data upload by the server of FIG. 18 is a flowchart of image data download from the server to the printer of FIG. 17; It is a figure which shows an example of the order reception list | wrist produced by the server of a store. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a shared type image print service system.

    Subsequently, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Food ink for bubble printing>
What is required of the ink for printing on the bubble etc. of the beverage is that it is first used for the beverage, so it needs to be an edible ink, and the color is not so high in saturation and it does not look poisonous is there. Next, the ink jetted to the bubble is well fixed to the surface of the bubble without flowing through the surface (spherical surface) of the bubble. This makes it possible to print sharp and precise designs on bubbles.

    As a result of searching for an ink capable of meeting these requirements, the inventor found that an edible ink containing a natural edible dye and having a viscosity of 5.0 to 12 mPa · s is a compatible ink. The These edible natural pigments include gardenia red pigment, gardenia blue pigment, safflower yellow pigment, and safflower red pigment.

    Tables 1 to 8 show examples of compositions and test values of edible inks containing natural edible dyes by color. The viscosity of the edible natural pigment in each table is 5.4 to 8.3 mPa · s, the surface tension is 28.0 to 34.0 mN / m, and the pH is 6.9 to 7.7. The test date of the edible inks of Tables 1 to 4 is August 25, 2015, and the test date of the edible inks of Tables 5 to 8 is November 6, 2015.

    As a result of printing an arbitrary design on the bubbles of the surface of the café latte filled in the container by the ink jet printer using these edible inks, the ink of any color has a color saturation suppressed moderately and Fine parts of the design could be printed clearly.

    Comparison was made between a café latte printed using an edible ink containing a natural edible dye according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cafe latte printed using an edible ink containing a conventional synthetic dye. As a result, the latter has a high density (chroma) and gives an impression of poison, and while the sharpness of the design is low, the former gives a soft impression by suppressing the density (chroma) and makes the design vivid It was confirmed that the degree was high.

    The reason why the density (saturation) is suppressed to give a soft impression and the definition of the design is high is because the viscosity of the edible natural pigment is larger than the viscosity of the conventional synthetic ink, so the microbubbles of this edible ink When the micro bubble) lands on the surface of the bubble, it is considered to be because it is firmly fixed without flowing, that is, the image blur which has conventionally occurred does not occur.

    It is needless to say that since the edible natural pigment is non-toxic, the beverage having the latte art produced using this edible ink is not disgusted. For example, people who are not impressed if the ordered café latte is provided with vivid prints such as photos of the orderer, lover, family, pets, etc., pictures and photos of favorite landscapes, etc. It will not.

<Ink cartridge>
The edible ink containing the above-mentioned edible natural pigment is liable to be contaminated and deteriorate in quality as the contact time is longer when exposed to air. Therefore, this edible ink has an expiration date. The present inventors propose below a method of automatically managing the expiration date of the edible ink containing this natural pigment in an ink jet printer.

[First proposal]
The inkjet printer is provided with a detector that detects that the ink cartridge has been installed. When the detector outputs a mounting detection signal, the elapsed days counting means of the arithmetic control unit (CPU) of the ink jet printer starts counting the elapsed days. Then, the determination means of the arithmetic control unit compares the counted number of elapsed days with the expiration date (usable period) set for the edible ink of the ink cartridge stored in the storage portion, and the number of elapsed days is the expiration date It is determined whether it has approached within the predetermined value from. Based on the output signal when it is determined that the determination means has approached within the predetermined value, the arithmetic control unit gives a drive signal to notification means provided in the ink jet printer, for example, a light emitter, a speaker, a display, etc. The means are configured to operate.

    Thus, when the ink cartridge filled with the edible ink is attached to the ink jet printer, counting of the elapsed days starts, and when the elapsed days approaches the expiration date of the edible ink (expiration date of the usable period) , And to that effect.

    A printer using this first ink management method uses an ink cartridge in which edible ink containing a natural edible dye is enclosed to print a predetermined design on a food filled in a container and having foam on the top surface. (A) means for automatically recording the mounting date (or mounting date and time) by detecting the mounting of the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge is mounted in the printer, as shown in FIG. b) A means for measuring the number of days elapsed (or elapsed time) from the mounting date (or mounting date), and (c) the expiration date (or lifetime of the edible ink filled in the ink cartridge mounted to the printer) Means for storing in advance) and (d) the elapsed days measured for the ink cartridge mounted on the printer with respect to the ink cartridge The means for determining whether or not the use date (or life) is close to the estimated use date (or life) and (e) the means for determining the use date (or life) are close to each other And means for notifying that the expiration date (or life) is approaching.

[Second proposal]
The second proposal of the ink management method according to the present invention for achieving the second object is to read the expiration date of the edible ink recorded in the ink cartridge by the reading means, and determine the read expiration date by the ink jet When it is determined that the current day has approached within the predetermined value of the expiration date as compared with the calendar of the printer, the notification means notifies.
(I) The first method for realizing this ink management method is to print a bar code recording the expiration date of edible ink on the ink cartridge, provide a bar code reader on the ink cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet printer, and When the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion, the bar code of the ink cartridge is read, and the read use period is compared with the calendar of the ink jet printer by the determination means, and it is determined that the day approaches within the predetermined value of the use period. On the basis of the signal output when the determination is made by the notification means.
(Ii) The second method for realizing the above ink management method is to attach an IC chip or an RFID tag for transmitting a signal indicating the expiration date of the edible ink to the ink cartridge, and an IC chip of the ink cartridge to the ink jet printer. Or using a receiver that communicates with or without contact or wirelessly with the RFID tag, and uses the edible ink received from the IC chip or the RFID tag when the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet printer The time limit is compared with the calendar of the ink jet printer by the determination means, and notification is made by the notification means based on a signal output when it is determined that the current day has come within the predetermined value of the use time limit.

    One aspect of the ink cartridge according to the present invention for achieving the third object is that an IC chip or an RFID tag transmitting information indicating the expiration date of the edible ink is attached to a predetermined position on the outer surface of the cartridge body. It features. The ink jet printer using this ink cartridge is equipped with a receiver for receiving information from the IC chip of the ink cartridge in a contact or non-contact manner, or a receiver for wireless communication with the RFID tag of the ink cartridge.

<Ink jet printer>
Subsequently, an ink jet printer in which a predetermined design is printed on a beverage having bubbles on the top surface filled in a container using an ink cartridge in which an edible ink containing the above-mentioned natural edible dye is enclosed will be described in detail.

    FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printer PR includes predetermined ones based on inputs from the operation unit 1, the display unit 2, the storage unit 3, the image data input unit 4, the printing unit 5, the operation unit 1 and the image data input unit 4. And a container C such as a cup for containing a beverage, and the container C such as a cup for containing a beverage, and the operation control unit 6 configured of a CPU that performs processing and performs predetermined control on the display unit 2, storage unit 3 and printing unit 5. And a mounting table moving mechanism 7 for moving between the position (first position P1) at which printing by the printing unit 5 is not performed and the position (second position P2) at which printing by the printing unit 5 is performed.

The operation unit 1 and the display unit 2 are provided at positions that can be operated and viewed, such as the front side of the housing of the printer PR. The operation unit 1 and the display unit 2 are configured by a touch panel and a display panel on a common surface. The printing unit 5 controls the opening and closing of each nozzle of the print head 51 based on print data supplied from the print head 51, the ink supply unit 52 that supplies ink to each nozzle of the print head 51, and the arithmetic control unit 6. And a print driver 53. The ink supply unit 52 includes an ink cartridge in which an edible ink containing the above-described natural edible dyes for four colors of black, magenta, cyan and yellow is enclosed, and supplies the ink cartridge to each nozzle of the print head 51.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting table moving mechanism 7 horizontally moves the mounting table 71 on which the container C is placed horizontally below the print head 51 within a predetermined range, and the mounting table 71 in a predetermined range And a vertical movement mechanism 73 for moving in the vertical direction. The horizontal movement mechanism 72 can be configured, for example, of a rail coupled to a pinion rack and a rack, and a motor for rotating the pinion in the forward and reverse directions. Vertical movement mechanism 73, for example, can be composed of a pantograph, a ball screw for raising and lowering it, a motor or the like for forward and reverse rotation of the ball screw. The vertical movement mechanism 73 is additionally provided with height adjustment means 74 for securing a predetermined print gap G between the upper surface of the container placed on the mounting table 71 and the lower surface of the print head 51.

    The height adjusting means 74 detects the height of the container on one side or both sides of the mounting table moving path when the mounting table 71 is at a position on which the container can be placed or removed, that is, the first position. For example, it has an optical sensor. The sensor emits and receives a beam in a direction perpendicular to the stage moving path along a horizontal plane passing a point equivalent to the printing gap, for example, about 1 to 2 mm lower than the lower surface of the print head 51. . Then, when an elevation command is input from the operation unit 1, the height adjustment unit 74 drives the vertical movement mechanism 73 to raise the mounting table 71 held at the lowest position, and places the mounting table 71 on the mounting table 71. When the sensor's beam is blocked by the container, it acts to stop its rise. When the lowering command is input from the operation unit 1, the vertical movement mechanism 73 is driven to lower the mounting table 71 in the rising position to the lowest position.

The operation of the printer PR at the time of use according to the above configuration will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
In the initial state, the horizontal movement mechanism 72 holds the mounting table 71 at the first position, and the vertical movement mechanism 73 holds the mounting table 71 at the lowered position. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the container C from which the cafe latte is extracted by the coffee server CS installed in the vicinity is placed on the mounting table 71 of the printer PR, and the operation unit 1 is operated to input an advancing command (FIG. When Y in step 1 of step 5. Hereinafter, the step is represented by S.), and the horizontal moving mechanism 72 is driven to horizontally move (advance) the mounting table 71 in the direction from the first position P1 to the second position P2. (S2). Then, when the predetermined height adjustment position is reached (Y in S3), the forward movement is stopped (S4), and the height adjustment means 74 starts control of the vertical movement mechanism 73 and the height of the mounting table 71 continues. Adjust the size (S5). That is, the mounting table 71 at the lowest position is raised until the sensor beam starts to be blocked by the container placed on the mounting table 71. The mounting table 71 raised to the predetermined height is subsequently horizontally moved to the second position P1 by the horizontal movement mechanism 72 (when Y in S6 and S7).

    The height adjustment of the mounting table 71 is performed before reaching the second position P2 because the container C placed on the mounting table 71 exists immediately above the second position P2 when the container C reaches the second position P2. This is to prevent collision with the print head 51 in advance. In addition, when the mounting table 71 reaches the second position P2, a predetermined print gap is secured between the surface of the foam present in the opening surface of the container C and the lower surface of the print head 51.

    When it is detected that the mounting table 71 has reached the second position P2 (the existing position of the mounting table 7 can be detected from the number of plus or minus pulses given to the motor of the horizontal movement mechanism 72), calculation. A printing routine (R) by the control unit 6 is executed. Details of the printing routine (R) will be described based on FIG.

    When the mounting table 71 reaches the second position P2, first, whether or not there is a print request from the operation unit 1 is monitored (S21), and when there is a print request, selection of an image to be printed is sought (S22) ). The selection of the image is not limited to this, for example, (a) image data stored in the memory in the printer PR, (b) image data captured from a digital camera connected to the printer PR, c) Image data captured from a USB memory attached to the printer PR, or (d) image data received from a smartphone or a portable terminal can be used. Each image or its index item is displayed on the display unit 2 according to the types (a) to (d) of the image data and further according to the storage order, so that the image can be easily selected. . There is no restriction on the type of image, and any of characters, symbols, patterns, pictures and photographs may be used.

    Following the print request (S21) from the operation unit 1, the images to be selected on the display unit 2 are displayed in a predetermined order (S22), and the selection is obtained (S23 to S26). Although the order is not limited, in the example shown in FIG. 5, a question as to whether to select an image stored in the memory first is displayed on the display unit 2 (S23). If affirmation (Y) is input in S23, the index of the image stored in the memory is displayed as an example to facilitate selection (S28). When one of them is selected (Y in S29), the selected image, that is, the data of the image to be printed is stored in the buffer memory of the printing unit 5 (S213). The selected image is also displayed on the display unit 2 for confirmation of the operator or the customer (S214).

    If a negative (N) is input in S23, it is asked whether or not to capture image data from the digital camera (S24). If affirmation is input in S24, the operation control unit 6 reads image data from the digital camera connected to the printer PR (S210), and stores it in the buffer memory of the printing unit 5 (S213). If a negative (N) is input in S24, then it is asked whether or not to capture image data from the USB memory (S25). If affirmation is input in S25, the operation control unit 6 reads image data from the USB memory attached to the USB memory slot of the printer PR (S211), and stores it in the buffer memory of the printing unit 5 (S213). If a negative (N) is input in S25, it is then asked whether or not to capture image data from the smartphone (S26). If affirmation is input in S26, image data is read from the connected smart phone (S212), and stored in the buffer memory of the printing unit 5 (S213).

    If negative (N) is input in step S26, it is displayed on the display unit 2 whether or not to cancel the latte art print request (S27). When the operation unit 1 is operated and canceled within a predetermined time (Y in S27), the processing of the printing routine (R) ends. When not canceling within a fixed time (when it is N in S27), it shifts to S21.

    When the image data read in steps S210, S211 and S212 is stored in the buffer memory of the printing unit 5 (S213), the image is displayed on the display unit 2 for confirmation of the operator or customer (S214) .

    When an image is displayed on the display unit 2 and the displayed image is confirmed within a predetermined time and a confirmation signal is input from the operation unit 1 (Y in S215), the printing unit 5 operates as a buffer memory The design is printed on the foam of the beverage filled in the container C by the print head 51 moved in the main scanning direction using the image data stored in the. Since printing is performed using an ink cartridge containing an edible ink containing the above-mentioned natural edible dye, as described above, a design having a clear, high-precision, quiet color faithful to the original image is printed on the foam (S216).

    When the image is displayed on the display unit 2 and the confirmation signal is not input within a predetermined time (N in S215, N in S217 when N), the printing is not performed when the operation unit 1 is operated and canceled. To step S8.

    After printing of the design for the foam of the beverage is finished in step S216, the arithmetic control unit 6 waits for the input of the retraction request from the operation unit 1 (S8), and when the retraction request is input, the horizontal movement mechanism 72 mounts it. The mount 71 is returned from the second position to the first position (S9, S10, S11). Therefore, the container C containing the latte-arted coffee beverage can be received from the mounting table 71.

<Coffee server with printer>
FIG. 7 illustrates a coffee server NCS according to an embodiment of the present invention. This coffee server NCS juxtaposes the conventional coffee server CS and the printer PR according to the present invention in close proximity to each other in the back and forth or right and left, and places the container in the lower part of the coffee server CS and the printer PR. And a mounting table moving mechanism 7A for moving the printing position in the side-by-side direction.

    The mounting table moving mechanism 7A has substantially the same configuration as the mounting table moving mechanism 7 in the ink jet printer PR according to the present invention, and horizontally moves the mounting table 71 on which the container C is mounted in a predetermined range. 72 and a vertical movement mechanism 73 for moving the mounting table 71 vertically in a predetermined range, and the vertical movement mechanism 73 compares the upper surface of the container C placed on the mounting table 71 with the lower surface of the print head 51 Height adjusting means 74 for securing a predetermined print gap between them. However, the first position where the container C can be placed and removed and the loading base for placing the container C is separated from both the delivery position and the printing position of the coffee server CS, the delivery position of the coffee server CS (No. It differs from the mounting table moving mechanism 7 in the ink jet printer PR in that it moves between the position 2) and the printing position (third position) of the printer PR.

    Further, the height adjusting means 74 sets the height of the mounting table on which the container C is mounted on the vertical moving mechanism 73 to the printing gap until the mounting table passes the first position P1 and the second position P2 by the horizontal moving mechanism 72. Control to adjust to the height for securing is not performed. Then, after the mounting table passes through the second position P2, the height adjusting means 74 drives the vertical movement mechanism 73 to set the height of the mounting table to a print gap, before reaching the third position P3. Raise to the height.

    In a preferred embodiment, although not shown, the operation unit of the coffee server CS is a type of coffee beverage, for example, a button for selecting a latte and a regular, and latte art is selected when the latte is selected. There are buttons that are operated when. That is, if you want to put out a cafe latte with latte art, you will have to press the latte button and the latte art button.

The operation of the coffee server NCS will be described with reference to FIG. 8 in the case where the button of the café latte is pressed.
In the initial state, the horizontal movement mechanism 72 holds the mounting table 71 at the first position P1, and the vertical movement mechanism 73 holds the mounting table 71 at the lowered position. When the operation unit 1 is operated and a cafe latte is requested (Y in S31), first, the mounting table 1 on which the container C is placed is moved from the first position P1 to the second position P2 by the horizontal movement mechanism 72 (S32). Next, the coffee server CS dispenses the café latte into the container C by the known dispensing technique (S33). Subsequently, it is monitored whether or not the latte art has been requested within a predetermined time from the end of the delivery (S34). When the latte art is not required within a predetermined time (N in S34), the mounting table 1 on which the container C is placed is returned from the second position P2 to the first position 1 by the horizontal movement mechanism 72. Therefore, the customer or the operator can receive the container C filled with the café latte from the mounting table 1.

    When a latte art is requested in step S34 (when Y in S34), the mounting table 1 on which the container C filled with the cafe latte is placed is moved from the second position P2 to the third position P3 by the horizontal movement mechanism 72. (S36). Then, when the mounting table 1 reaches a predetermined position, that is, the height adjustment position (Y in S37), the movement is stopped (S38), and the height adjusting means 74 continues to the vertical movement mechanism 73. To adjust the height of the mounting table 71 (S39). When the height adjustment is completed, the mounting table 71 raised to the predetermined height is horizontally moved again to the third position P3 by the horizontal movement mechanism 72 (S310, S311). When the mounting table 71 reaches the third position P3, the printing routine (R) is executed.

    This printing routine (R) is the same as the printing routine (R) in FIG. 5, and the details thereof are the same as those shown in FIG. Therefore, duplicate explanations are omitted here.

<Coffee drink reservation system>
A coffee server NCS with an ink jet printer can be provided with a reservation system for accepting coffee beverage reservations. This reservation reception can be performed by an in-store reservation method that accepts a reservation application from a customer who visits a store, and an out-of-store reservation method that accepts a reservation application from a portable terminal such as a smartphone of a remote location. In addition, it is also possible to adopt both the in-store reservation method and the out-of-store reservation method in one coffee server NCS with an ink jet printer.

[In-store reservation system reservation system]
Subsequently, a reservation system of the in-store reservation system will be described. When a reservation system is introduced, a reservation acceptance machine is installed at the store.

    When the ink jet printer PR is independent of the coffee server CS as in the example shown in FIG. 4, the reservation acceptor RS is electrically connected to the ink jet printer PR as illustrated in FIG. Reservation data created as described later in the RS is given to the ink jet printer PR. Reservation data may be provided to the coffee server CS.

    Further, in the case of the coffee server NCS with an ink jet printer in which the ink jet printer PR and the coffee server CS are combined as in the example shown in FIG. 7, the reservation acceptor RS is an ink jet printer PR as illustrated in FIG. And the coffee server CS, and reservation data created as described later in the reservation acceptor RS is given to only the coffee server CS or to both the coffee server CS and the ink jet printer PR.

    Hereinafter, a configuration example and an operation example of the reservation reception device RS connected to the coffee server NCS with an ink jet printer will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 11A to 11C.

    The reservation acceptor RS used for the in-store reservation system has an input unit 81 for instructing reservation data creation by the control unit 82 and transmission of reservation data by the transmission unit 86, as illustrated in FIG. 11A, and control of each unit. The control unit 82, the image data acquisition unit 83 for acquiring image data from the outside, and the confirmation of the image of the acquired image data or for confirming the image in the transmitted reservation data. It has the display part 84 which displays an image, and the memory | storage part 85 which memorize | stores the image data of the design printed by inkjet printer PR, and reservation data. The image data acquisition unit 83 acquires image data from a digital camera a, an SD card b, a USB memory c, or a DVD reader as an image data recording medium, which is an image data acquisition destination, according to a known technique.

    The storage unit 85 includes, as an example, a buffer memory 85a, a standard design storage unit 85b, a personal design storage unit 85c, and a reservation data storage unit 85c. The buffer memory 85 a temporarily stores image data taken from the image data recording media a to c. The standard design storage unit 85a prestores, as a standard design, data of a plurality of images that most customers are likely to prefer as print contents. The personal design storage unit 85 b stores image data of an image obtained by the image data recording media a to c connected to the image data acquisition unit 83 and for which confirmation of a customer has been obtained. The reservation data storage unit 85c stores reservation data representing the confirmed reservation content of each customer.

    As exemplified in FIG. 11B, the reservation data D includes, for example, the customer reservation number D1 input from the input unit 81, the provision date (departure date) D2 of the reserved product, the type D3 of the reserved product, It consists of each data of the storage address D4 of the standard design or personal design designated by the customer. Predetermined image data to be printed can be recalled from the standard design storage unit 85a or the personal design storage unit 85b based on the storage address D4 of the image data.

    The control unit 82 is, as illustrated in FIG. 11C, as a function realizing unit, a reservation data creation unit 82a, an image data loading unit control unit 82b, a display unit control unit 82c, a storage unit control unit 82d, a reservation data reading unit 82e and A transmission unit control means 82f is provided.

    The reservation acceptance device RS performs the reservation acceptance process and the reservation execution process as follows according to the above configuration.

[Reservation processing]
(A) When a reservation acceptance start command is input from the input unit 81 based on a customer's reservation application, a reservation number is automatically acquired by the reservation data creation unit 82a, and is buffered as part of the reservation data D (reservation number D1). It is provisionally registered in the memory 85a.
Next, when the product receipt date desired by the customer is input from the input unit 81, it is temporarily registered in the buffer memory 85a as a part of the reservation data D (product receipt scheduled date D2) by the reservation data creation means 82a.
(U) Next, the type of product desired by the customer is selected and input from the types of products that can be reserved. That is, for example, one of regular coffee, espresso, caffe latte etc. is designated. If a latte is specified, then no latte art or latte art is specified. The type of the specified product is temporarily registered in the buffer memory 85a as a part (product type D3) of the reservation data D by the reservation data creation means 82a.
(E) If the customer specifies that there is latte art, ask the customer to select the design to be printed. That is, it is input which one of standard design and personal design is desired to be printed.
(O) When selecting a standard design, specify a standard design as an image to be edited summary data from the input unit 81, and select an individual design as an image to be edited summary data from the input unit 81 when selecting a personal design. specify.

(A1) When a standard design is specified, the standard design is called from the standard design storage unit 85a in a predetermined order, displayed on the display unit 84, and it is determined whether or not the customer desires to print the standard design. Ask. The next standard design is displayed on the display unit 84 in a predetermined order each time the customer requests the next standard design. When the determination of the customer is input from the input unit 81, the storage address D4 of the determined image data of the standard design is temporarily registered in the buffer memory 85a as a part (D4) of the reservation data D.
(A2) When all reservation data D (D1 to D4) above are temporarily registered in buffer memory 85a and reservation data editing is completed, the reservation data D (D1 to D3) and the image at storage address D4 (standard design) Is displayed on the display unit 84.
(A3) When the customer sees the displayed content and confirms that there is no mistake, when a confirmation signal is input from the input unit 81, the reservation data D (D1 to D4) is regarded as the confirmed reservation content and reserved. It is stored in the data storage unit 85c.

(B1) When the customer selects a personal design in the design selection process, an image data recording medium brought by the customer, ie, for example, digital camera a, SD card b, USB memory c or DVD, is taken as an image data acquisition unit 83 Ask to connect or wear.
(B2) When the image data recording medium is connected or attached, the image data loading unit control means 82b of the control unit 82 reads the image data from the image data recording medium, and the display means control means 82c displays the image. It is displayed on the part 84 one by one.
(B3) When a confirmation signal is input from the input unit 81 when the displayed image matches the customer's request, the image data of the confirmed image is temporarily registered in the buffer memory 85a as a part (D4) of the reservation data D Be done.
(B4) When reservation data editing is completed by all temporary registration of reservation data (D1 to D4), the image of reservation data D (D1 to D3) and storage address D4 (individual (individual) as in the case of (a2)) Design is displayed on the display unit 84.
(B5) As in the case of (a3) above, when the customer sees the displayed reservation content and confirms that there is no mistake, the confirmation data is confirmed when the confirmation signal is input from the input unit 81. The stored reservation content is stored in the reservation data storage unit 85c.
The above is the contents of reservation acceptance processing in the in-store reservation method.

Reservation Execution Process
The reservation execution process of the reservation reception device RS is performed when the customer who made the reservation comes to the store and requests to provide the reserved product. That is, when the customer or the clerk inputs the reservation number of the customer from the input unit 81 of the reservation reception device RS, the reservation data reading means 82e of the reservation reception device RS stores it from the reservation data storage unit 85c corresponding to the reservation number. The reservation data being read out is read out and displayed on the display unit 84. When the customer having the reservation number confirms that there is no mistake in the display content, when a confirmation signal is input from the input unit 81, the reservation data D read from the reservation data storage unit 85c is transmitted by the reservation acceptor RS It is transmitted to the coffee server NCS with an ink jet printer by the section control means 82f.

    The control unit of the coffee server NCS with an ink jet printer does not include the storage address D4 of the image data in the reservation data D received from the reservation acceptor RS (that is, when the reservation content is only a coffee beverage) The reservation data D is given only to the coffee server CS. On the other hand, when the storage address D4 of the image data is included in the reservation data D received from the reservation acceptance machine RS (that is, when the contents of the reservation include the coffee drink and the latte art), the reservation data D is a coffee server. It applies to both CS and inkjet printer PR.

    The coffee server CS delivers the reserved type of coffee beverage to the container C in accordance with the product type data contained in the given reservation data D as described above. Further, the ink jet printer PR prints the image reserved according to the image data included in the given reservation data D on the foam of the latte of the container C.

Then, when the reservation content is only a coffee beverage, the container C placed on the mounting table 71 of the coffee server CS is moved from the first position P1 to the second position P2 by the mounting table moving mechanism 7 and the coffee server CS After the coffee drink of the reserved type is finished, the first position P1 is returned again.
On the other hand, when the contents of reservation are a coffee drink and latte art, the container C placed on the mounting table 71 is moved from the first position P1 to the second position P2 and the coffee server CS reserves the reserved coffee latte. After completion of the ejection, it is further moved to the third position, where the ink jet printer PR uses the image data read from the image data storage address D4 included in the reservation data D for the bubbles on the upper surface of the cafe latte. A predetermined design is printed. Then, when the printing is completed, the container C on which the latte art has been applied is returned again to the first position P1 by the mounting table moving mechanism 7.

[Reservation system for outside store reservation method]
In the reservation system of the out-of-store reservation method, in place of the image data capture unit 83 of FIG. 11A, the reservation acceptance unit RS of FIG. 10 allows the customer to make reservations using the portable terminal. A communication device (not shown) is provided for communication. The reservation acceptance processing in the reservation acceptor RS provided with this communication device will be described with reference to FIG.

[Reservation processing]
When the reservation acceptance unit RS of FIG. 10 is activated, first, it waits for an incoming call from any portable terminal (S41). When an incoming call is received (Y in S41), the response control means configured by the control unit 82 calls up a text registered in advance in the storage unit 85, and as an example, "unreserved person" , please press "1", or those of the existing reservation send the voice of please press "9"", or send a letter (S42). Following this, when "1" is pressed (Y in S43), the reservation acceptor RS performs reservation acceptance processing (S44).

    FIG. 13 shows an example of the reservation acceptance process. This will be described below. A reservation number is assigned to the caller who pressed "1" (S441). Next, the sender is requested to transmit the scheduled arrival date and time (S 442), and subsequently, specification of the type of goods is requested (S 443). When the planned arrival date and time has been transmitted, that date and time is stored in the buffer memory. In S444, whether or not the product type for the product type specification request has been specified is waited, and if not specified after a predetermined time (Y in S445), the communication line is disconnected (S446) and the reservation accepted End the process. If a product type is specified in step S444, it is identified whether the specified product type is other than caffe latte or caffe latte (S447).

    If the type of the designated product is other than a cafe latte, the reservation data D is created using the data obtained in steps S 441, S 442 and S 443, that is, the data of reservation number D 1, scheduled arrival time D 2 and product type D 3 ( S448) The reservation data is stored in the reservation data storage unit 85d of the reservation acceptor RS (S449), and the reservation acceptance process is ended.

    In step S447, if the type of the designated product is a cafe latte, the sender is subsequently asked whether or not to request latte art (S4410). If the latte art is not desired (in the case of N in S4410), the process proceeds to S448 and S449 to create reservation data and store it in the reservation data storage unit 85d, and the reservation acceptance process is ended. The reservation data D in this case is also composed of the data of the reservation number D1, the scheduled arrival time D2, and the product type D3, as in the case where the product type is other than the cafe latte.

    If a latte art is desired in step S4410, the image data of the image to be printed is requested to be transmitted (S4411). When the image data is not transmitted within the predetermined time (in the case of Y in S4413), the process proceeds to Step S47, the communication line is disconnected, and the reservation acceptance process is ended.

    On the other hand, when the image data is transmitted within a predetermined time (in the case of Y in S4412), the reservation data D is created (S4415), and the reservation data is stored in the reservation data storage unit 85d of the reservation acceptor RS. (S4416), and the reservation acceptance process is ended.

    The reservation data D created when latte art is desired is the reservation data D when the type of the product is other than the cafe latte and when the type of the product is the cafe latte and the latte art is not desired is the reservation number D1, The difference is that the image data D4 is added in addition to the scheduled arrival time D2 and the product type D3.

Reservation Execution Process
If "1" is not pressed in step S43 in FIG. 12, it waits for "9" to be pressed (S45). When "9" is pressed (Y in S45), the reservation acceptor RS performs reservation execution processing (S46). However, when "9" is not pressed within a predetermined time in S45 (Y in S47), the communication line with the portable terminal that was in communication is disconnected (S48), and the process returns to step S41.

    The reservation execution process in step S46 of the reservation acceptor RS is performed as follows, as shown in FIG. That is, for example, the voice or character of "Please enter reservation number" is transmitted to the mobile terminal of the reservation person who has visited the store, and the input of the reservation number is requested (S461). If the reservation number is not input within the predetermined time (N in S461, Y in S462), for example, the voice or character of "reservation could not be confirmed" is transmitted (S464), and the portable terminal that was in communication Is disconnected (S465), and the process returns to step S41.

    On the other hand, in the case of Y at S462, the reservation data is called from the reservation data storage unit 85d based on the reservation number (S466), and the reservation data is analyzed. That is, it is checked whether a cafe latte with latte art is included as a product type in the reservation data (S 467).

    If the reservation data does not include the latte art-added caffe latte (N in S467), the transmission unit control means 82f of the reservation acceptor RS transmits the reservation data only to the coffee server CS. And for mobile devices in communication, for example, "I'm making coffee for my order now. Send a voice or text of "Please wait for a while" (S464), and end the reservation execution process.

    When the latte art-added cafe latte is included in the reservation data at S 467 (Y at S 467), the transmission data is transmitted to both the coffee server CS and the ink jet printer PR by the transmission section control means 82 f of the reservation acceptor RS. Transmit And for mobile devices in communication, for example, "I'm making coffee for my order now. Send a voice or text of "Please wait for a while" (S464), and end the reservation execution process.

    One possible embodiment of the latte art printable coffee server is summarized in one table as shown in FIG. That is, it can be roughly divided into a customer (T1) and a customer (T2).

    For the shopper (T1), one that prints only standard designs (T11), one that prints only personal designs (T12), and one that prints both standard designs and personal designs (T13) can be used. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, in these three embodiments, a stand-alone type (A1, B1) in which the coffee server is independent of the ink jet printer and a combination type (A2, B2) in which the coffee server is coupled to the ink jet printer It is possible. In the case of printing both standard design and personal design (T13), independent (A1, B1) and combined (A2, B2) are possible as shown in FIG. Illustration is omitted.

    On the other hand, the reservation user (T2) can be further divided into an in-store reservation (T21) and an out-of-store reservation (T22). For in-store reservation (T21), it is possible to print only the standard design (T211), print only the personal design (T212), and print both the standard design and the personal design (T213). FIG. 16 shows a stand-alone type (C1) and a combination type (C2) of the type (T212) which prints only the personal design. It is also possible to print only standard designs (T221), print only personal designs (T222), and print both standard and personal designs (T223) even for out-of-store reservations (T22). . FIG. 16 shows a stand-alone type (D1) and a combination type (D2) of those printing only personal designs (T222).

    Although not shown in FIG. 15, as described in the lower part of FIG. 16, a combination of independent A1 and C1, a combination of independent B1 and C1, a combination of combined A2 and C2, a combined B2 and A combination of C2 is also possible by utilizing the technical matters described above.

<Other Embodiments>
Step S1 in FIG. 5 is based on the fact that the loading table is provided with weight detection means, for example, a load cell, instead of the operator pressing the forward request switch, and that the load cell detects that the container is loaded on the loading table. The forward movement by the horizontal movement mechanism may be automatically activated. In step S8, instead of the operator pressing the retraction request switch, retraction by the horizontal movement mechanism may be automatically activated based on the end of the printing process of the printing process routine R.

    If a coffee beverage is first poured into the container by the coffee server CS and then the design is printed on the coffee beverage of the container by the ink jet printer PR, the arrangement of the coffee server CS and the ink jet printer PR and the moving direction of the container are It is not limited.

    Although the example which connected inkjet printer PR to coffee server CS which spouts out the coffee drink as a representative of the drink which has foam on the upper surface was explained above, the beer server which pours out draft beer with similar foam to a mug The same applies.

    The print target of the printer according to the present invention is a beverage or food having foam (foam group) or the like on the top surface. Such beverages include, for example, coffee beverages having foam (foam group) on the top such as caffe latte and espresso, or alcoholic beverages having foam (foam group) on the top such as draft beer. Also, foods having a foam analog include, for example, minced meat of nagashima, tofu, steamed tofu, rice gel, soft ice cream and the like.

Subsequently, as another embodiment, a system in which a customer uploads image data from a portable terminal to a server, and prints an image confirmed by the customer at a store on a product to provide the customer with the customer (hereinafter, image print The service system will be described.
There are two types of this image print service system, depending on where the server is provided. One of them is an independent type in which servers are provided independently for each store, and the other is a common type in which a WEB server common to each store is provided on the Internet. Below, both types are explained one by one.

Independent type
The image print service system of the independent type, as shown in FIG. 17, is composed of a portable terminal 1000 owned by a customer and a store facility 2000. Although only one portable terminal 1000 is shown in FIG. 17, it goes without saying that the same number of portable terminals 1000 as the number of customers are used. The store facility 2000 includes a clerk operation terminal 2100 installed in a store H, a server 2200 having various functions of a WEB server, a print server, and a file server, a WiFi access point 2300, and an inkjet printer for food printing. And 2400 are connected to the in-store network.

[Mobile device]
As shown in FIG. 18, the portable terminal 1000 includes a communication unit 1001, a touch panel input unit 1002, a display unit 1003 provided on the same surface as the input unit 1002, a photographing unit 1004, and a control unit 1005. , Storage unit 1006.

    The communication unit 1001 is capable of wireless communication in a WiFi environment. The mobile terminal 1000 can access the server 2200 via the WiFi access point 2300 by the communication unit 1001. There is no need to be connected to the Internet. When connected to the Internet, a customer (mobile terminal 1000) can also access the server 2200 via the Internet.

    The storage unit 1006 stores, in addition to program data and working data, image data of an image captured by the imaging unit 1004 and / or image data received from the outside, as well as a known portable terminal.

Generally speaking, the mobile terminal 1000 has various functions similar to those of a normal smart phone or tablet, and accesses the server 2200 via the WiFi access point 2300 of a specific store H to execute an application program for print order ( Hereinafter, it has a function of requesting download of the order application), activating the downloaded order application, and uploading image data of an image selected from among the images stored in the storage unit 1006 to the server 2200. .

    The image to be uploaded is preferably an image captured by the portable terminal 1000 itself, but it may be an image received and recorded from another portable terminal or transmitter from the portable terminal 1000.

    The main functions of the mobile terminal 1000 are a request for downloading the order application, uploading of image data to a specific store server 2200 by operation of the downloaded order application, and notification of completion of uploading to the mobile terminal 1000. These will be sequentially described below.

    One way to make a download request for the order app is to access the server 2200 of a particular store H. In order to access the server 2200, a method of inputting the URL of the homepage of the store H from the input unit 1002, photographing the QR code (registered trademark) described in the advertisement leaflet of the store by the imaging unit 1005, and automatically Any of the access methods may be used.

The downloading method of the ordering application and the launching method of the ordering application are the same as the known method, but this will be briefly described.
(1) The store facility 2000 (the shop clerk operation terminal 2100) is accessed, and the home page screen is displayed on the display unit 1003 of the portable terminal 1000.
(2) Tap the word "App" on the screen to find and tap the desired application title from the displayed application title list.
When this image print service system is applied to printing an image on a cafe latte that is served at a coffee shop, the app title is displayed as, for example, “Café latte order”, so that “Cafe latte order” display part Tap
(3) After confirming the application commentary page displayed on the display unit 1003 of the mobile terminal 1000, the display portion of "Install" is tapped.
(4) As a result, the order application is read from the server 2200, downloaded to the mobile terminal 1000, and stored (installed) in the storage unit 1006.

    In order to launch the installed order app, “Open” and “Uninstall” are displayed on the app explanation page after the installation is completed, so tap “Open” to launch the order app. Alternatively, if the order application “cafe latte order” is found from the application list and the order application is tapped, the order application is activated.

    After the order application is activated, a list of the images stored in the storage unit 1006 of the portable terminal 1000 is displayed on the display unit 1003 according to the instruction of the application, and the customer prints it at the store, for example, a cafe latte. Select the desired image, and tap the "send" display portion to transmit (upload) the image data of that image to the server 2200.

The process until the image data is uploaded from the mobile terminal 1000 to the server 2200 using the order application after the order application is downloaded to the mobile terminal 1000 will be described in more detail.
When the customer (mobile terminal 1000) selects the order application, as shown in (a) of FIG. 19, the display unit 1003 of the mobile terminal 1000, as an initial screen, characters representing the contents of the order application such as "cafe latte order". (B) A design (b) simply representing a cafe latte with latte art, and a letter meaning activation of the order application, for example, "START" or a symbol (c), is displayed surrounded by a box.

    When the user taps on the “START” or symbol (c) frame, the order application is activated, and the control unit 1005 executes an image selection routine. More specifically, as shown in (b) of FIG. 19, among the images stored in order in the storage unit 1003, the first image (2) is read and displayed on the display unit 1003, and, for example, The characters "F" and "Next" are framed and displayed on the display unit 1003, and it is requested to select the image or display the next candidate.

    At this stage, when tapping in the “decision” frame, as shown in (c) of FIG. 19, an image (g) obtained by trimming a portion other than the print area of the image, ie, the print area and the print intention Characters (for example, “print”) or symbols (h) are displayed on the display unit 1003 surrounded by a frame.

    When “next” is tapped without tapping “decision” in (b) of FIG. 19, the second stored image of the storage unit 1006 is read out and displayed on the display unit 1003. The characters “decision” and “next” are displayed on the display unit 1003. After that, when "Next" is tapped without tapping "OK", the image and characters "OK" and "Next" are displayed on the display unit 1003 until the last image. Be done.

    When tapping "print" or the symbol (h), the control unit 1005 of the mobile terminal 1000 adds the image data of the image (g) trimmed as print target image information to the identification number of the mobile terminal 1000, and the communication unit From 1001, it transmits (uploads) to the server 2200.

    In FIG. 19, the image is represented by alphabet letter A for simplification, but here, a face photograph such as a person or a pet animal, a landscape photograph, a picture, a figure, etc. are represented.

    When the upload of the image data is completed, the server 2200 that has received the upload adds a reception number to the print order, adds the uploaded image data to the reception number, and stores it in the storage unit of the server 2200. .

    When the server 2200 finishes storing the reception number and the image data, the server 2200 transmits a transmission completion notice to the portable terminal 1000 that is the upload source of the image data. The portable terminal 1000 that has received the transmission completion notification text displays the transmission completion notification text on the display unit 1003.

    The transmission completion notice is a number indicating the reception number after "transmission completed. Please wait in front of the latte machine.", As shown in (d) in Fig. 19, for example. No: 151 "is added. In addition, a letter requiring confirmation by the customer of the reception number, for example, "OK" is displayed. When the user taps "OK", the portable terminal 1000 transmits a signal indicating that the reception number has been confirmed to the server 2200.

    The portable terminal 1000 displays a transmission completion notification and outputs an audio such as "The reception number is 151. I've made a wait. Please wait in front of the latte machine." From a speaker provided on the portable terminal 1000. It is desirable to do.

    It is desirable to add one or more subordinate images such as stamps to main images such as face photographs such as people and pets, landscape photographs, pictures and figures on images printed on goods in store H May be A process in the case of adding a stamp to the main image of FIG. 19 and transmitting it will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, as shown in (c1) of FIG. 20, “print” and “stamp” are displayed on the lower side of the trimmed image (g) of (c) of FIG. Wait for the tap. When "print" is tapped, the process proceeds to (d) of FIG. 19 described above. However, when "stamp" is tapped, the type of stamp is displayed as shown in (c2) of FIG. 20, and one of the selections is required.

    When one type of stamp is selected, a plurality of stamps belonging to that type are displayed as shown in (c3) of FIG. When a stamp desired to be added is tapped, the stamp is superimposed on the main image and displayed on the display unit 1003, as shown in (c4) of FIG. At this time, tapping “print” (h) uploads image data in which the stamp (e) is added to the main image (g) of (c4) in FIG. After that, as in (d) of FIG. 19, the portable terminal 1000 receives the transmission completion notification text and displays it on the display unit 1003.

[Store equipment]
A store facility will be described in the case where the image print service system is applied to printing an image as a tellate art on a cafe latte that is served at a coffee shop. The store clerk operation terminal 2000 provided in the store may be any of a desktop computer, a notebook computer, and a tablet, but as shown in FIG. 21, a communication unit 2001, an input unit 2002, a display unit 2003, a control unit 2004, a storage unit Have 2005. A server 2006 and an inkjet printer 2400 are connected to the control unit 2004 via an input / output unit (not shown).

    The communication unit 2001 is connected to the Internet, and can communicate with the portable terminal 1000 of the customer in the store by the WiFi environment.

    As shown in FIG. 22, when the customer (portable terminal 1000) who has accessed the clerk operation terminal 2100 requests the download of the order application (when Y in S51), the control unit 2004 serves as a server for the order application. It is read from the storage unit 2200 and downloaded to the customer (mobile terminal 1000) (S52).

    As shown in FIG. 23, when the identification number of the mobile terminal 1000 and the image data are transmitted (uploaded) by execution of the order application of the mobile terminal 1000 (Y in S61), the server 2200 adds a reception number first. The reception number is recorded in the order reception list of the storage unit of the server 2200 (S63). Further, the image data received from the portable terminal 1000 is added with a reception number, and is stored in the storage unit of the server 2200 (S64). That is, when the image data is uploaded, the reception number is attached to the customer who holds the mobile terminal 1000. The identification number of the portable terminal 1000 is added to the reception number (S65). A reception date may be added to the reception number.

    As shown in FIG. 24, when the customer shows the reception number displayed on the portable terminal 1000 to the clerk and the clerk inputs the reception number from the input unit 2002 of the clerk operation terminal 2100 (Y in S71), The control unit 2004 reads the image data corresponding to the reception number from the server 2006 (S72), and causes the display unit 2003 to display the image (S73).

    The sales clerk inputs the reception number, and instead of displaying the image corresponding to the reception number on the display unit 2003, the standby screen of the display unit 2003 reads the order read from the server 2200 as illustrated in FIG. Acceptance list (OL) is displayed, the display content is shifted until the acceptance number (for example, 151) of the customer is displayed on the screen, and the confirmation mark described at the end of the acceptance number of the customer, for example, "download When the character “is tapped, an image corresponding to the reception number may be displayed on the display unit 2003.

    FIG. 25 shows an example of the order acceptance list (OL). In the order reception list (OL), the reception number, the identification number, and the reception date and time are recorded in order of reception of the order. When the reception date is displayed on the same line of each reception number, it is a clue to determine whether the correspondence between the reception number and the customer is incorrect by, for example, inquiring the customer regarding the reception date.

When the clerk shows the image displayed on the display unit 2003 of the clerk operation terminal 2100 to the customer, and the customer confirms that the image is the print request target, the clerk confirms the execution (ENTER) key of the input unit 2002 When the operation is performed (Y in S74), the control unit 2004 transfers the image to the inkjet printer 2400 (S75).
Instead of operating the execution (ENTER) key of the input unit 2002, an OK icon displayed near the image of the display unit 2003 may be tapped.

    As described above, the inkjet printer 2400 may be a separate type independent of the coffee server, or a combined type integrated with the coffee server. The inkjet printer 2400 may print on a processed food such as, for example, a fixed type cookie.

    The image data transferred to the inkjet printer 2400 is temporarily stored in the storage unit of the inkjet printer 2400. Then, when the container detection unit of the inkjet printer 2400 detects that the container is placed on the container mounting table, a known print driver uses the image data temporarily stored in the storage unit to use in the container. Print the image on top of the latte.

[Common type]
Subsequently, a common type image print service system will be described. In the image print service system of the common type, as shown in a simplified example of FIG. 26, the mobile terminals 1000 of a plurality of customers operate in the same image print service system. Among them, mutual communication is possible with the shop clerk operation terminal 2100 of the shop specified by the URL. Further, a WEB server 2500 is provided on the internet circuit 3000, and even between the clerk operation terminal 2100 of each store H1, H2... And the WEB server 2500, mutual communication is possible via the internet circuit 3000.

    There is no need for a server and a WiFi access point in the store, and only a clerk terminal 2100 and an inkjet printer (capable of printing via the Internet, or capable of printing the clerk terminal 2100 as a print server) 2400 Are connected to the Internet 3000. Reception of the image is received via the Internet separately from the store.

    A WiFi access point for Internet connection may be provided separately from the in-store network, and may be connected to the Internet 3000 in the store so as to be able to connect to the WEB server 2500.

The mobile terminal 1000 and the shop clerk operating terminal 2100 of each store are in a relationship of client server, and the shop clerk operating terminal 2100 requests the order application according to the request for downloading the order application from the mobile terminal 1000. Download to the mobile terminal 1000. That is, when the portable terminal 1000 transmits a request message requesting the download of the order application to the clerk operation terminal 2100, the clerk operation terminal 2100 receives the request message, analyzes it, and accepts it in the application program, To process. Then, the mobile terminal 1000 transmits (downloads) a response message containing the predetermined order application to the mobile terminal 1000.
Of course, when the mobile terminal 1000 issues a download request for the order application, it makes a download request using the URL of the requested store. However, the order app to be downloaded is common to all stores.

[Effect]
The portable terminal 1000 to which the order application has been downloaded uses the order application to select an image for which printing is desired for printing in the store, and then uploads image data of the selected image to the web server 2500. Make a request. That is, the portable terminal 1000 accesses the web server 2500 by https communication, transmits a request message requesting upload, and is selected in advance by the portable terminal 1000 based on the reception of the upload permission response message from the web server 2500. The image data that has been sent is sent (uploaded) to the web server 2500. Thus, the customer has ordered an image print from the store. If the store offers a café latte, the image will be printed on the cauliflower. It is desirable to add the identification number of the portable terminal 1000 of the orderer and the transmission date and time to the image data to be transmitted.

    The web server 2500 to which the image data has been uploaded immediately assigns a reception number to the order, adds the reception number, the reception date and time, and the identification number to the image data, and the image data, reception number, reception date and identification number Are readably stored as order information in a predetermined storage area of the storage unit in the order of reception. In this case, the transmission date of the orderer is taken as the reception date.

    The web server 2200 extracts the reception number, the reception date and time, and the identification number from the order information of each order as illustrated in FIG. 25, and creates and stores the order reception list OL.

    When a customer ordering a cafue product receives a product, the clerk is made to show the reception number (for example, “151”) displayed on the display unit 1003 by execution of the ordering application on the portable terminal 1000 to the clerk. When the clerk inputs the reception number into the clerk operation terminal 2100, the clerk operation terminal 2100 accesses the WEB server 2500 and displays the registered order acceptance list OL on the display unit 2003 of the clerk operation terminal 2100. . Since the order number and the date and time of reception are displayed in the order of reception in the order reception list OL, the clerk is the reception number of the customer, for example, the character of "download" displayed at the end of the line "151" in FIG. When the user taps, the image stored in the WEB server 2500 in association with the reception number is read and displayed on the display unit 2003 of the clerk terminal 2100. When the customer confirms the image, when "OK" displayed on the display unit 2003 is tapped, the image data of the image is transferred to the ink jet printer 2400 and printed.

    Although the customer who ordered the cafuerate usually receives the cafuerate on which the image is printed at the store where the order was made (for example, H1 in FIG. 26), the order application is all stores operating the same image print service system Common to (H1, H2,...), And since the clerk operation terminal 2100 of all stores can access the WEB server 2200, they can also be received at stores other than the store that made the order (for example, H2 in FIG. 26) . It becomes the former if you want to drink cafleate after placing an order without putting time, and it becomes the latter if you want to drink at another store after the time has passed.

    If the store that places the order (order store) and the store that receives the receipt (receive store) are different, for example, at the receiver store, the image preferred by the date partner without telling the date partner to order at the order store is You can give the surprise of giving a printed latte.

    In the common type, since the customer's order data can be stored in the web server 2500, it is possible to statistically grasp how much printing is performed in which store and at which time zone, or at the time of printing Customer information can be collected by performing attribute registration and the like.

PR inkjet printer (printer)
1 operation unit 2 display unit 3 storage unit 4 image data input unit (camera, USB memory, smart phone)
5 print unit 51 print head 52 ink supply unit 53 print driver 6 arithmetic control unit (CPU)
7 placing table moving mechanism 71 placing table 72 horizontal moving mechanism 73 vertical moving mechanism 74 height adjustment means CS alone coffee server coffee server with NCS printer 8 reservation acceptance machine

Claims (18)

    An edible ink for printing a predetermined design by an ink jet printer on a foam produced on a surface of a container such as a cafe latte or a beverage such as beer, which contains an edible natural pigment, Edible ink characterized by having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 mPa · s.     The edible ink according to claim 1, wherein the edible natural pigment is a gardenia red pigment, a red locust pigment, a safflower yellow pigment, a gardenia blue pigment, and the surface tension of the edible ink is 28.0 to 34. 0.1 mN / m, pH of the edible ink is 6.9 to 7.7, characterized in that the edible ink.     The ink jet printer is provided with a detector for detecting the mounting of the ink cartridge, and the arithmetic control unit (CPU) reads the mounting date from the calendar of the ink jet printer based on the detection signal from the detector, and contains edible natural pigment. The expiration date (usable period) set for edible ink having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 mPa · s is read from the memory, and the elapsed days counted by the elapsed days counting means and use of the edible ink The use of the edible ink characterized in that the notification means notifies based on a signal outputted when the determination means compares the possible period with the determination means and the former approaches the latter within a predetermined value. Deadline management method.     An IC chip or an RFID tag for transmitting a signal indicating the expiration date of the edible ink is attached to the ink cartridge containing an edible ink containing a natural edible dye, and the IC chip or RFID of the ink cartridge is attached to the ink jet printer A reader that communicates with a tag in a contact or non-contact or wireless manner, and when the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet printer, the edible ink received from the IC chip or the RFID tag The expiration date is compared with the calendar of the ink jet printer by the determination means, and the notification means is notified on the basis of a signal output when the determination means determines that the current day has come within the predetermined value of the expiration date. Period of use of the edible ink Management method.     An IC chip or an RFID tag for transmitting information indicating the expiration date of edible ink is provided at a predetermined position on the outer surface of the cartridge body, and when attached to the ink jet printer, contacts the receiver provided for the ink jet printer. The ink cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the information is transmitted without contact. In an ink jet printer for printing a predetermined design on a food or beverage having a foam on the top, filled in a container, using an ink cartridge containing an edible ink containing a natural edible dye,
(A) a means for automatically detecting the mounting date (or mounting date and time) by detecting the mounting of the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet printer;
(B) means for measuring the number of days elapsed (or elapsed time) from the mounting date (or mounting date and time);
(C) a means for storing in advance the expiration date (or life) of the edible ink filled in the ink cartridge mounted on the ink jet printer;
(D) The elapsed days measured for the ink cartridge mounted to the ink jet printer are compared with the expiration date (or life) stored for the ink cartridge, and whether the expiration dates (or life) are approaching or not Means for determining
(E) The information processing apparatus further comprises: means for notifying that the expiration date (or life) is approaching when the determination means determines that the expiration date (or life) is approaching. Inkjet printer. An ink jet printer for performing a latte art or the like which prints a design by jetting an edible ink from a nozzle based on image data on the surface of foam of steam milk of latte or the like filled in a container such as a cup or the like. A stationary mounting table for mounting the container replaceably, and a print head provided with the nozzle, which is moved in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction with respect to the mounting table, and jetted from the nozzle Said edible ink comprises an edible natural pigment having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 mPa · s . An ink jet printer for printing a predetermined design with edible ink on bubbles generated on a surface such as a café latte or beer filled in a container,
A mounting table for mounting the container, a print head provided at a position higher than the container mounted on the mounting table, and at least one of the mounting table and the print head with respect to the container by the print head A moving mechanism relatively moved to a printing position and a non-printing position; an ink supply unit for supplying edible ink to the print head; and a design data storage unit for storing data of a design printed by the print head And an input unit for selecting a design stored in the design data storage unit via the control device described later and inputting a print start command, the ink supply unit containing a natural edible dye, The ink cartridge containing an edible ink having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 mPa · s is used, and the control unit selects a design from the input unit. Controlling the moving mechanism based on the input of the printing start command signal and the printing start command signal, the selected design for the bubbles generated in the container placed on the mounting table is edible of the ink cartridge An ink jet printer characterized by using the ink to print by the print head.     9. The inkjet printer according to claim 8, wherein the design data storage unit stores image data captured from a connected digital camera, stores image data read from a UBS memory, a smart phone, etc. An ink jet printer characterized in that it stores image data transmitted through the above, and stores image data downloaded through the Internet, but any one or more of them. A coffee server with an ink jet printer integrated with a coffee server for producing a café latte in a container such as a cup and generating a steam milk foam on the top surface of the café latte, ie, a coffee server with an ink jet printer,
Having a mounting table for mounting the container;
The coffee server dispenses the café latte into the container placed on the mounting table when the mounting table is in a predetermined position.
The inkjet printer has a print head provided at a position higher than a container placed on a mounting table, an ink supply unit that supplies edible ink to the print head, and data of a design to be printed by the print head A design data storage unit for storing the data, and an input unit for selecting a design stored in the design data storage unit via the control device described later, and for inputting a print start command;
The ink supply unit uses an ink cartridge containing an edible ink containing a natural edible dye and having a viscosity of 5.6 to 12 mPa · s,
A first position where the table can be placed on and removed from the table, a second position in which the container placed on the table is located below the coffee outlet of the coffee server, and the table A mounting table moving mechanism for moving the container placed on the lower side of the printing head to a third position located below the printing head;
The control device controls the mounting table moving mechanism based on the signal for selecting the design from the input unit and the input of the print start command signal, and the foam generated in the container mounted on the mounting table is A coffee server with an ink jet printer, wherein the selected design is printed by the print head using edible ink of the ink cartridge.     11. The coffee server with an ink jet printer according to claim 10, wherein the mounting table moving mechanism moves the mounting table from the first position to the second position based on the input of the start signal, and the coffee server is in the cafe latte. The mounting table is moved from the second position to the third position based on the extraction completion signal output when the extraction operation is finished, and the mounting table is selected based on the print completion signal output when the ink jet printer has finished printing on the container. A coffee server with an ink jet printer characterized by having a horizontal movement mechanism moving from three positions to a first position.     11. The coffee server with an ink jet printer according to claim 10, wherein the mounting table moving mechanism has a height of the opening surface of the container placed on the mounting table when the mounting table is at the second position. What is claimed is: 1. A coffee server with an ink jet printer, comprising: a vertical movement mechanism for adjusting the height of a mounting table to secure a predetermined gap between the lower surface of the print head and the lower surface of the print head. It has a reservation reception machine, an inkjet printer that can receive reservation data from the reservation reception machine, and an independent coffee server,
The reservation acceptance unit is an image data acquisition unit for acquiring image data from the selected image data acquisition destination, and an input unit for selecting at least one of a digital camera, an SD card, a USB memory, and a portable terminal as an image data acquisition destination. A display unit for displaying the image using the captured image data, an input unit for giving a confirmation signal when the displayed image is intended, and an image displayed based on the confirmation signal. The apparatus comprises an image data storage unit for storing image data, and a transmission unit for transmitting image data stored in the image data storage unit to the ink jet printer based on the confirmation signal,
The ink jet printer uses the image data transmitted from the reservation acceptance machine when the container from which the café latte is dispensed by the coffee server is placed under the print head, and designs the surface of the café latte. A coffee beverage reservation system characterized by being printed.     The coffee beverage reservation system according to claim 13, wherein the image data storage unit is a standard design storage unit in which a standard design is stored in advance, and a personal design storage unit that stores image data acquired from the image data acquisition destination. And the image data of the standard design storage unit and the personal design storage unit are displayed on the display unit in a predetermined order in response to the operation of the image selection unit, and displayed when the confirmation signal is input. A coffee beverage reservation system, wherein image data of an image is configured to be transmitted to the ink jet printer.     The coffee beverage reservation system according to claim 13, wherein the reservation reception device has a communication function of communicating with a portable terminal, and when the communication line is connected with the portable terminal, the portable terminal Request identification and identification of the type of coffee beverage to be reserved and the designation of the design for which printing is desired, and request confirmation of the content of the designated reservation, and only coffee drink or coffee Perform reservation acceptance processing asking for a response of whether to drink or print a drink and to print a design, and when a response indicating execution is input, the identification code, type or designation of designated coffee drink Create reservation data including image data of the designated type of coffee beverage and the designated design, and transmit the reservation data to the ink jet printer Coffee beverages reservation system, characterized in that. It has a reservation reception machine and a coffee server with an ink jet printer that can receive reservation data from the reservation reception machine.
The reservation acceptance unit is an image data acquisition unit for acquiring image data from the selected image data acquisition destination, and an input unit for selecting at least one of a digital camera, an SD card, a USB memory, and a portable terminal as an image data acquisition destination. A display unit for displaying the image using the captured image data, an input unit for giving a confirmation signal when the displayed image is intended, and an image displayed based on the confirmation signal. An image data storage unit for storing image data; and a transmission unit for transmitting the image data stored in the image data storage unit to the coffee server with an ink jet printer based on a confirmation signal,
The coffee server with an ink jet printer comprises a coffee server and an ink jet printer installed close to each other.
The coffee server dispenses at least a coffee latte into a container placed below the coffee bottle outlet by the automatic brewing mechanism based on the input of the start start signal from the reservation acceptance machine, and then the container is taken out of the coffee bottle outlet A moving mechanism that moves from below the print head of the inkjet printer to below the print head of the ink jet printer,
The inkjet printer uses the print head to print a reserved design on the surface of the foam of the latte in the container based on the reservation data given by the reservation acceptor, and the container is moved by the moving mechanism. A coffee beverage reservation system characterized by moving to a position where people can receive it. (A) It consists of store equipment installed in the store and a mobile terminal used by customers,
(B) The store facility includes a clerk terminal, a server, and an inkjet printer for food printing,
(C) The mobile terminal has a function of uploading image data of a print target image to the server using a predetermined application,
(D) The server has a function of storing the image data uploaded from the mobile terminal, assigning a reception number to the mobile terminal, and notifying the mobile terminal of the reception number.
(E) The mobile terminal has a function of displaying the reception number notified from the server,
(F) The store clerk operation terminal has a function of reading out image data corresponding to the reception number from the server and displaying the image when the reception number is input,
(D) The clerk terminal has a function of sending the displayed image data to the ink jet printer when a print command is input under the condition that the displayed image is confirmed by the customer. is there,
An image print service system characterized by (A) It consists of store equipment installed in a plurality of stores and mobile terminals used by customers,
(B) The store facility has the same configuration as the store facility of any store, and has a terminal for store clerk operation connected to an internet circuit, a web server provided on the internet, and the store clerk operation And an ink jet printer for food printing connected to a terminal or the WEB server,
(C) The portable terminal has a function of uploading image data of a print target image to the web server,
(D) The WEB server stores the image data uploaded from the mobile terminal, assigns a reception number to the mobile terminal, and transfers the reception number to the mobile terminal that has uploaded the image data. Has the ability to notify,
(E) The mobile terminal has a function of displaying the accession number notified from the WEB server,
(F) The clerk operation terminal has a function of reading out the image data corresponding to the reception number from the WEB server when the reception number is input, and displaying the image.
(D) The store clerk operation terminal or the WEB server receives an image of the displayed image when a print command is input under the condition that the customer displays the image displayed on the store clerk operation terminal. It has a function of sending data to the ink jet printer,
An image print service system characterized by

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