JP3789588B2 - Beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser provided with a BIB unit that provides a beverage by diluting a concentrated raw material supplied from BIB (Bag In Box) with dilution water, and in particular, there is no troublesome replacement of the BIB, In addition, the present invention relates to a beverage dispenser that can accurately detect sold-out.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a beverage dispenser, a beverage dispenser provided with a BIB unit that supplies a beverage by diluting concentrated raw materials (syrup, etc.) such as oolong tea and juice supplied with a pump from BIB with dilution water such as tap water is widely known. .
[0003]
As this type of conventional beverage dispenser, for example, there is one that calculates the remaining amount of concentrated ingredients in the BIB and detects sold-out concentrated ingredients.
[0004]
This beverage dispenser counts the number of rotations of a pump that discharges concentrated material from the BIB based on the number of pulses of a stepping motor that drives the pump, and calculates a discharge amount of the concentrated material that has been sold. A remaining amount data storage unit storing the remaining amount data of the concentrated raw material in the BIB, and subtracting the discharge amount data calculated by the discharge amount calculation unit from the remaining amount data stored in the remaining amount data storage unit A remaining amount calculation unit to be stored as new remaining amount data in the amount data storage unit, a remaining amount warning lamp for prompting a warning when the remaining amount data stored in the remaining amount data storage unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value, A reset switch or the like is provided for resetting the remaining amount data in the remaining amount data storage unit to a value when the concentrated material in the BIB is full.
[0005]
In the beverage dispenser having such a configuration, at the time of sale, the discharge amount calculation unit calculates the discharge amount of the concentrated raw material, and the remaining amount calculation unit calculates the discharge amount from the remaining amount data stored in the remaining amount data storage unit. The data is subtracted and stored in the remaining amount data storage unit as new remaining amount data. When the sales progress and the remaining amount data stored in the remaining amount data storage unit becomes a predetermined value or less, the remaining amount warning lamp warns that the remaining amount of the concentrated raw material in the BIB is small.
[0006]
On the other hand, when the used BIB is replaced with a BIB filled with the concentrated material, the reset switch is pressed to reset the remaining data in the remaining data storage unit to the value when the concentrated material in the BIB is full. To do.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the conventional beverage dispenser, there is a problem that it is troublesome because the reset switch must be pressed when replacing the BIB. In addition, if the user forgets to press the reset switch or there are a plurality of BIB units, there is a risk that the reset switch may be pressed incorrectly, and there is a problem that accurate sold-out detection cannot be performed reliably.
[0008]
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispenser that does not involve bothering BIB replacement.
[0009]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a beverage dispenser that can reliably detect the sold-out of the BIB concentrated raw material.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention detects the replacement of the BIB and generates an exchange signal so that the replacement of the BIB is not troublesome, and the BIB concentrated raw material can be accurately sold out. Detecting means for outputting, storage means for storing the remaining amount of the concentrated raw material in the BIB, first calculating means for calculating the discharge amount of the concentrated raw material in accordance with the rotational speed of the motor driving the pump, Second calculation means for calculating a new remaining amount of the concentrated material in the BIB based on the remaining amount and the discharge amount of the concentrated material, and a remaining amount lowering signal when the new remaining amount falls to a predetermined remaining amount Each time a new remaining amount is calculated, a new remaining amount is stored in the storage unit, and when an exchange signal is output, the new remaining amount in the storage unit is reset and a predetermined value is set. The remaining amount is stored in the storage means, and a remaining amount decrease signal is output. When, and a control means for outputting a control signal indicating that the concentration material in BIB is lowered to a predetermined residual amount, and said detecting means, when the BIB is placed in a predetermined position A first switch for outputting a BIB set signal; and an exchange signal generating means for outputting the exchange signal when the BIB set signal is outputted after the output of the BIB set signal is stopped for a predetermined time; The drink dispenser containing is provided.
[0012]
Said detecting means includes a second switch for outputting the port Npusetto signal can and tube for concentrating the raw material discharge to pump is set, the exchange signal generating means detecting means, BIB set signal及 for a predetermined time after the output of the fine pump set signal is stopped, when the BIB set signal及 beauty pump set signal is outputted, and Turkey to output the replacement signal is preferred.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a beverage dispenser of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0014]
FIG. 1 shows a beverage dispenser according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The beverage dispenser 1 includes a substantially box-shaped device body 2 and a door 3 provided on the upper front surface of the device body 2 so as to be opened and closed.
[0015]
The apparatus body 2 includes a cool box 4 that cools concentrated raw material (hereinafter referred to as syrup), a drip tray 6 on which three paper cups 5 can be placed, and oolong tea with respect to the paper cups 5 on both sides of the drip tray 6. A BIB unit 7 for supplying a non-carbonated beverage such as juice and a tank unit 8 for supplying a carbonated beverage such as cola to the paper cup 5 at the center of the drip tray 6 are provided.
[0016]
The cool box 4 includes a cooler 9 in which a continuous cooling water conduit 9A through which cooling water in a cooling water tank (not shown) passes, and a tray 10 on which a BIB described later is placed.
[0017]
The BIB unit 7 is placed on the tray 10 of the cool box 4, filled with syrup for non-carbonated beverages inside, and supplied with syrup via the tube 12, and the non-carbonated beverages When the sales request is received, the syrup in the tube 12 of the BIB 11 is discharged from the nozzle portion 12A by a predetermined amount (for example, around 40 cc) and the dilution water is supplied from the dilution water nozzle 22 to the corresponding paper cup 5. It is comprised from the tube pump 13 which provides a carbonated drink.
[0018]
The tank unit 8 includes a syrup passage made of a tube connected to a syrup tank (not shown), a flow regulator having a flow rate adjusting screw provided in the syrup passage, an electromagnetic valve 14, a nozzle 15, and the like.
[0019]
Next, the tube pump 13 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 together.
[0020]
The tube pump 13 has three roller pumps 17 on the periphery, a roller assembly 16 that is rotated in the direction of the arrow by a stepping motor (not shown), a motor drive circuit 18 that drives the stepping motor, and a tube 12 inside. The tube guide door 19 that guides the tube 12 toward the center of the roller assembly 16 and the circular arc shape having the same curvature as the roller assembly 16 are provided so as to be rotatable around the rotary shaft 20A. A guide 20 that is sometimes fixed to the roller assembly 16 and sandwiches the tube 12, a pump set switch 28 that is turned on by the pressing portion 20B of the guide 20 when the guide 20 is fixed, and the tube 12 is housed inside. A pinch door 21 that opens and closes the nozzle portion 12A of the tube 12 in accordance with the sales operation; It comprises a diluting water nozzle 22 that discharges water and an electromagnetic valve 23 that controls the diluting water discharged from the diluting water nozzle 22, and upon receiving a non-carbonated beverage sales request, the motor drive circuit 18 By driving the roller assembly 16 in the direction of the arrow by a predetermined number of revolutions by outputting a drive signal having a pulse with a frequency of syrup, the syrup in the tube 12 is pushed out by the roller pump 17 and discharged, and by controlling the electromagnetic valve A predetermined amount of dilution water is supplied from the dilution water nozzle 22.
[0021]
3 (a) and 3 (b) show the tray 10, (a) is a side view, and (b) is a top view. When the BIB 11 is placed, the tray 10 has a tube outlet 24 for leading the tube 12 integrated with the bag inside the BIB 11 through the spout 11A, and an opening 25 having bearings 25A on both sides. The movable plate 27 is rotatably supported by the bearing 25A, one of which is positioned in the opening 25 and the other of the movable plate 27 is fixed to open and close to open and close an internal contact (not shown). It is composed of a BIB set switch 26 having a protrusion 26A on the top.
[0022]
When the BIB 11 is placed on the tray 10, the BIB set switch 26 rotates clockwise around the bearing 25 </ b> A by the clockwise rotation of the movable plate 27, and the contact opening / closing protrusion 26 </ b> A contacts the back surface of the tray 10. When the BIB 11 is removed from the tray 10 by contacting and immersing against the urging force, it rotates counterclockwise due to the counterclockwise rotation of the movable plate 27, and the contact opening / closing projection 26A protrudes. Configured to turn off.
[0023]
FIG. 4 shows a detection system for detecting the sold out syrup of the BIB unit 7. When the BIB 11 is placed on the tray 10, the BIB set switch 26 that outputs a BIB set signal and the tube 12 are set in the tube pump 13. Then, a pump set switch 28 that outputs a pump set signal, a timer 29 that measures time at a predetermined timing, and a pulse detector that detects the rising edge of the pulse signal output from the motor drive circuit 18 and outputs a detection signal 30, a counter 31 that counts a detection signal output from the pulse detector 30 and outputs a count value, a syrup discharge amount calculation unit 32 that calculates a discharge amount of syrup based on the count value, and a BIB 11 when full BIB syrup amount storage unit 33 that stores the amount of syrup in the memory, and the remaining amount of syrup in BIB 11 is stored. A syrup remaining amount storage unit 34, a storage unit 36 including a BIB replacement remaining amount storage unit 35 that stores a syrup remaining amount (hereinafter referred to as a replacement remaining amount) in the BIB 11 that serves as a guide for replacing the BIB 11, and a syrup remaining amount A syrup remaining amount calculation unit 37 that calculates a new remaining amount of syrup in the BIB 11 by subtracting the discharge amount calculated by the syrup discharge amount calculation unit 32 from the remaining amount stored in the amount storage unit 34; When the replacement remaining amount stored in the amount storage unit 35 and the new remaining amount calculated by the syrup remaining amount calculation unit 37 are compared, and the new remaining amount is lower than the replacement remaining amount, a remaining amount reduction signal is output. Predetermined control is performed based on the syrup remaining amount comparison unit 38, the syrup remaining amount lamp 39 that indicates that the remaining amount of syrup in the BIB 11 has decreased, and the control program in the sales mode and the reset standby mode. It is configured to include a control unit 40 for the row.
[0024]
When the count value output from the counter 31 is input in the sales mode, the control unit 40 outputs the count value to the syrup discharge amount calculation unit 32 to calculate the syrup discharge amount, and the syrup remaining amount storage unit 34 The stored remaining amount is read, and the discharge amount and the remaining amount are output to the syrup remaining amount calculation unit 37. Then, the syrup remaining amount calculating unit 33 performs calculation, and whenever new remaining amount data is calculated, the new remaining amount is stored in the syrup remaining amount storing unit 34, and the new remaining amount and the BIB replacement remaining amount are stored. The remaining replacement amount stored in the quantity storage unit 35 is output to the comparison unit 38, where both are compared. When a remaining amount reduction signal is input from the syrup remaining amount comparison unit 38 in the comparison result, the syrup remaining amount lamp 34 is displayed. Further, when both the BIB set switch 26 and the pump set switch 28 are turned off and the BIB set signal and the pump set signal are not input, the timer 29 measures time, and a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) or more elapses. Then, the reset standby mode is entered. When the BIB set switch 26 and the pump set switch 28 are both turned on in the reset standby mode and the BIB set signal and the pump set signal are input, the remaining amount of the syrup remaining amount storage unit 34 is reset and the BIB syrup amount is stored. The full syrup amount stored in the BIB 11 stored in the unit 33 is stored in the syrup remaining amount storage unit 34 as a remaining amount, and the sales mode is entered again.
[0025]
Hereinafter, the operation of the beverage dispenser of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0026]
When a non-carbonated beverage sales request is received in the sales mode, a drive signal having a predetermined number of pulses is output from the motor drive circuit 18 to the stepping motor, and the roller assembly 16 is rotated by a predetermined number of rotations by driving the stepping motor. When the roller assembly 16 rotates, the roller pump 17 cooperates with the guide 20 to push out the syrup in the tube 12 from the nozzle portion 12A by a predetermined amount and discharge it.
[0027]
At the same time, the dilution water obtained by cooling the city water tap water is pumped by the water pump and supplied from the dilution water nozzle 22 through the electromagnetic valve 33 so that it is mixed with the syrup in the air to the corresponding paper cup 5. Poured.
[0028]
At this time, the pulse detector 30 detects the rise of the pulse of the drive signal output from the motor drive circuit 18 and outputs the detection signal to the counter 31. The counter 31 counts the input detection signal and outputs the count value to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 outputs the count value to the syrup discharge amount calculation unit 32, calculates the syrup discharge amount according to the count value, and reads the remaining amount stored in the syrup remaining amount storage unit 34, and discharges these discharge amounts. , And the remaining amount are output to the syrup remaining amount calculation unit 37. The syrup remaining amount calculation unit 37 calculates a new remaining amount by subtracting the discharge amount from the remaining amount, and returns this to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 stores the new remaining amount in the syrup remaining amount storage unit 34 every time the new remaining amount calculated by the syrup remaining amount calculation unit 37 is input in this way, and also replaces the new remaining amount with the BIB. The remaining replacement amount stored in the remaining amount storage unit 35 is output to the comparison unit 38, where both are compared.
[0029]
When the sales progress and the new remaining amount is lower than the replacement remaining amount in the comparison result of the syrup remaining amount comparing unit 38, the remaining amount reducing signal is output from the syrup remaining amount comparing unit 38. When the remaining amount reduction signal is input, the control unit 40 causes the syrup remaining amount lamp 34 to display and warns that the remaining amount of syrup in the BIB 11 is small.
[0030]
On the other hand, when the BIB 11 is replaced with a syrup filled with the syrup, the guide 20 of the tube pump 13 is rotated to open the space between the roller assembly 16 and the guide 20 and the BIB 11 with a small remaining amount of syrup from there. After the tube 12 is pulled out, the BIB 11 is removed from the tray 10. At this time, both the BIB set switch 26 and the pump set switch 28 are turned off, and the control unit 40 causes the timer 29 to measure the time, and when a predetermined time or more elapses, the reset standby mode is set. Then, the BIB 11 filled with syrup is placed on the tray 10, and the tube 12 is inserted between the guide 20 of the tube pump 13 and the roller assembly 16 to fix the guide 20 to the roller assembly 16. At this time, both the BIB set switch 26 and the pump set switch 28 are turned on, and a BIB set signal and a pump set signal are output to the control unit 40 from each. When the control unit 40 inputs the BIB set signal and the pump set signal, the remaining amount of the syrup remaining amount storage unit 34 is reset and the remaining syrup amount in the BIB 11 stored in the BIB syrup amount storage unit 33 is remaining. Is stored in the syrup remaining amount storage unit 34 and the sales mode is set.
[0031]
As described above, when the BIB set switch 26 and the pump set switch 28 detect the replacement of the BIB 11, the control unit 40 resets the remaining amount of the syrup remaining amount storage unit 34 to the value of the syrup amount of the full BIB. This eliminates the hassle of reset input. In addition, there is no human error, and it is possible to reliably detect the BIB syrup being sold out. Further, since the BIB set switch 26 and the pump set switch 28 are both turned on after a predetermined time has elapsed after both the BIB set switch 26 and the pump set switch 28 are turned off, the replacement of the BIB 11 is detected. Can prevent false detection of replacement. That is, even if the pump set switch 28 is turned off due to maintenance or the BIB set switch 26 is turned off because the remaining amount of the BIB 11 is lowered and the position of the BIB 11 on the tray 10 is changed, the reset input is erroneously performed. There is nothing to do.
[0032]
In the above embodiment, replacement of the BIB is detected by the BIB set switch 26 and the pump set switch 28. However, any one switch may be used.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the beverage dispenser of the present invention, when the detection unit detects the replacement of the BIB, the control unit resets the remaining amount of the storage unit that stores the remaining amount of the concentrated ingredient in the BIB to a predetermined value. Therefore, there is no troublesome replacement of the BIB, and accurate sell-out detection of the BIB concentrated raw material can be reliably performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a beverage dispenser according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the tube pump according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a tray according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a BIB sold-out detection system according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation according to the first embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Beverage dispenser 2 Apparatus main body 3 Door 4 Cold storage 5 Paper cup 6 Drip tray 7 BIB unit 8 Tank unit 9 Cooler 9A Cooling water conduit 10 Tray 11 BIB (Bag In Box)
12 Tube 12A Nozzle part 13 Tube pump 14 Electromagnetic valve 15 Nozzle 16 Roller assembly 17 Pump roller 18 Motor drive circuit 19 Tube guide door 20 Guide 20A Rotating shaft 20B Press part 21 Pinch door 22 Dilution water nozzle 23 Electromagnetic valve 24 Tube outlet 25 Opening 25A Bearing 26 BIB Set Switch 26A Contact Open / Close Protrusion 27 Movable Plate 28 Hump Set Switch 29 Timer 30 Pulse Detector 31 Counter 32 Syrup Discharge Amount Calculation Unit 33 BIB Syrup Amount Storage Unit 34 Syrup Remaining Amount Storage Unit 35 BIB Replacement Amount Storage unit 36 Storage unit 37 Syrup remaining amount calculation unit 38 Syrup remaining amount comparison unit 39 Syrup remaining amount lamp 40 Control unit

Claims (2)

In a beverage dispenser including a BIB unit that provides a beverage by diluting a concentrated raw material discharged from a BIB (Bag In Box) by a pump with dilution water,
Detecting means for detecting exchange of the BIB and outputting an exchange signal;
Storage means for storing the remaining amount of the concentrated raw material in the BIB;
First computing means for computing a discharge amount of the concentrated raw material according to the number of rotations of a motor driving the pump;
Second computing means for computing a new remaining amount of the concentrated material in the BIB based on the remaining amount of the concentrated material and the discharge amount of the storage unit;
Signal generating means for outputting a remaining amount lowering signal when the new remaining amount is reduced to a predetermined remaining amount;
Each time the new remaining amount is calculated, the new remaining amount is stored in the storage unit, and when the exchange signal is output, the new remaining amount in the storage unit is reset to a predetermined value. Control means for storing in the storage means as the remaining amount and outputting a control signal indicating that the concentrated raw material in the BIB has been reduced to the predetermined remaining amount when the remaining amount lowering signal is output ; , equipped with a,
The detection means includes
A first switch for outputting a BIB set signal when the BIB is placed at a predetermined position;
A beverage dispenser comprising: an exchange signal generating means for outputting the exchange signal when the BIB set signal is outputted after the output of the BIB set signal is stopped for a predetermined time . It said detecting means includes a second switch for outputting the port Npusetto signal can and tube for the concentrated raw material discharge to the pump is set,
The exchange signal generating means of the detection means outputs the exchange signal when the BIB set signal and the pump set signal are output after the output of the BIB set signal and the pump set signal is stopped for a predetermined time. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the beverage dispenser is output .

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