JP3931509B2 - Cup vending machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cup-type vending machine, and more particularly to a cup-type vending machine that extracts a coffee beverage from ground coffee beans by supplying hot water of a predetermined pressure to the extractor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional cup-type vending machine, coffee beans are ground by supplying ground beans after pulverizing coffee beans to an extractor, and then supplying hot water from a hot water tank to the extractor using a pump at a predetermined pressure. Some extract at high pressure.
[0003]
In this type of cup-type vending machine, when a customer presses one of the product selection buttons of a plurality of types of coffee, a predetermined amount of coffee beans corresponding to the product selection button is crushed by the mill and is supplied to the extractor. Supplied. Thereafter, the hot water in the hot water tank is pressurized by a pump, supplied to the boiler, and supplied to the extractor through the piping, whereby the coffee beverage is extracted. This coffee drink is supplied to a cup and mixed with auxiliary ingredients such as sugar and cream according to customer preference and sold.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional cup-type vending machine, when low-temperature hot water stays in the supply pipe connected to the extractor, coffee extraction starts even though the hot water is heated in the hot water tank and the boiler. Occasionally, cold water is supplied to the extractor, which impairs the degree of extraction of ground beans after pulverizing coffee beans and the taste of coffee beverages.
[0005]
This problem can be solved, for example, by heating the supply pipe over the whole using a heater or eliminating hot water inside the supply pipe. However, in the former case, since a heater and a heater heating power supply device are required, there is a problem that the mechanism for extraction becomes large and the cost increases with an increase in the number of parts. In the latter case, since drainage control of the supply pipe is required, there is a problem that the control for extraction in the cup type vending machine becomes complicated.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention prevents the increase in size and cost of the mechanism for extraction, eliminates the need for complicated control for extraction, and allows cup-type vending that can supply hot water to the extractor from the beginning of extraction. The purpose is to provide a machine.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention was created in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. In the cup type vending machine according to claim 1, by supplying hot water from a hot water tank to the extractor, the extractor can use tea, coffee. In a cup-type vending machine for extracting beverages such as a first hot water pipe for supplying hot water from the hot water tank to the extractor, and branching from the first hot water pipe, the hot water from the hot water tank is Based on the second hot water pipe to be refluxed to the hot water tank, a detection unit for detecting whether or not money is dropped , and a detection output of the detection unit when the money is dropped , the hot water from the hot water tank is And a control means for refluxing the hot water tank through the first and second hot water pipes. According to the cup type automatic vending machine according to claim 1, it can be hot water by preventing useless reflux to high temperature, furthermore, since the reflux water during money invested, operational effects that can shorten the sales time of the beverage .
[0011]
Furthermore, the cup type automatic vending machine according to claim 2 is according to claim 1, wherein the control means, the direction of supplying hot water to the extractor as a forward, said second hot water in the first water pipe A check valve disposed downstream of the branching position to the pipe, an electromagnetic valve disposed in the second hot water pipe and opened when the hot water returns to the hot water tank, and the first hot water pipe And a pump that pumps hot water in an amount of water that does not pass through the check valve when the hot water is recirculated to the hot water tank. According to the cup type vending machine of the second aspect, with a simple configuration, the mechanism for extraction can be prevented from increasing in size and cost, and the operation for preventing the control for extraction from becoming complicated can be prevented. Has an effect [0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Details of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is an overall view showing an example of a cup type vending machine to which the present invention is applied.
[0014]
In FIG. 1, a cistern 1 stores water from a water intake pipe 2. The float switch 3 outputs a water level lowering signal when the cistern 1 falls below a predetermined water level. The intake valve 4 is disposed in the intake pipe 2 and controls the supply of water to the cistern 1. That is, the intake valve 4 is opened in response to the generation of a water level lowering signal, and causes the systern 1 to supply water from the intake pipe 2. As a result, the water level of cis turn 1 is kept constant.
[0015]
The hot water tank 5 heats the water supplied from the cistern 1 through the pipe 6 to a predetermined temperature and stores it as drinking water. The float switch 7 outputs a water level lowering signal when the hot water tank 5 falls below a predetermined water level. The electromagnetic valve 8 is disposed in the pipe 6 and controls the supply of water to the hot water tank 5. That is, the electromagnetic valve 8 is opened in response to the generation of the water level lowering signal, and the hot water tank 5 is supplied with water from the pipe 6. Thereby, the water level of the hot water tank 5 is kept constant. The heater 9 is supplied with current from the power supply unit 10 and heats the stored water in the hot water tank 5. The hot water temperature sensor 11 outputs a hot water temperature detection signal corresponding to the hot water temperature of the hot water tank 5. Thus, the hot water temperature of the hot water tank 5 is maintained at a constant temperature based on the hot water temperature detection signal. For example, it is assumed that the amount of water stored in the hot water tank 5 is 5 liters, the output of the heater 9 is 1 KW, and the hot water temperature in the hot water tank 5 is maintained at 97 ° C.
[0016]
The pump 12 pressurizes the hot water in the hot water tank 5 to a predetermined pressure and outputs it. The bypass pipe 13 is connected between the hot water tank 5 and the pump 12, and a return valve 14 is disposed in the bypass pipe 13. That is, when the supply destination of the pressurized hot water from the pump 12 is in a state where it cannot receive the supply based on some factor, the return valve 14 is opened, and the hot water in the pump 12 is returned to the hot water tank 5 through the bypass pipe 13. It is.
[0017]
The 1st hot water pipe 15 is connected between the pump 12 and the extractor mentioned later, and supplies the pressurized hot water from the pump 12 to an extractor. The first hot water pipe 15 includes a pressure sensor 16 that outputs a pressure detection signal corresponding to the pressure in the hot water pipe, a flow rate sensor 17 that outputs a flow detection signal corresponding to the flow rate in the hot water pipe, and hot water upstream. A check valve 18 is provided to prevent backflow. The second hot water pipe 19 is connected between the upstream branch point of the check valve 18 in the first hot water pipe 15 and the hot water tank 5, and the extraction hot water valve 20 is disposed in the second hot water pipe 19. Is done. The extraction hot water valve 20 is opened when the hot water in the first hot water pipe 15 is returned to the hot water tank 5. At this time, the pressure of the pump 12 is controlled so as not to pass through the check valve 18 based on the pressure detection signal and the flow rate detection signal in the first hot water pipe 15.
[0018]
The bean storage container 21 stores coffee beans, and the mill 22 has a crushing blade (not shown) that rotates at high speed by driving a mill motor 23, and crushes the coffee beans with a crushing blade to produce ground beans. It is. The measuring device 24 measures the amount of ground beans for one cup from ground beans in the mill 22 based on the volume. The chute 25 is arranged on the upper part of the extractor 26 for extracting coffee, and appropriately guides the ground beans held in the measuring device 24 to the extractor 26.
[0019]
The extractor 26 includes, for example, a cylinder 27, a piston 28, a piston motor 29, a torque transmission unit 30, a cap 31, a cap motor 32, a gear 33, and a beverage supply pipe 34. In the cylinder 27, ground beans are supplied through the chute 25. The piston 28 is configured such that the rotational driving torque of the piston motor 29 is transmitted via the torque transmission unit 30 to move up and down in the cylinder 27 to change the pressure in the cylinder 27. The cap 31 is connected to the first hot water pipe 15 and supplies hot water into the cylinder 27. The cylinder 27, the piston 28, the piston motor 29, and the torque transmission unit 30 are integrally formed to constitute a cylinder unit 35. The gear 33 receives the driving force of the cap motor 32 and rotates around the fulcrum 36 to rotate the cylinder unit 35 between the chute 25 and the cap 31 around the fulcrum 37. The beverage supply pipe 34 is connected to the cylinder unit 35 and supplies the extracted coffee beverage to the cup 38. The operation from the supply of the ground beans in the extractor 26 to the extraction of the coffee beverage is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-193792 filed by the applicant of the present application. Since it is not directly related, description of the operation is omitted. Further, the extractor 26 is not limited to the above configuration. That is, the extractor 26 may be any configuration as long as it can extract the coffee beverage using the pressurized hot water from the first hot water pipe 15.
[0020]
The koji bucket 39 receives the extracted koji produced when the coffee beverage is extracted by the extractor 26.
[0021]
The sugar container 40 stores sugar. The mixing bowl 41 dissolves a predetermined amount of sugar supplied from the sugar container 40 via the chute 42 with a predetermined amount of hot water supplied from the hot water tank 5 via the hot water valve 43, and passes through the pipe 44 to the cup 38. To supply. On the other hand, the cream container 45 stores a cream raw material. The mixing bowl 46 melts a predetermined amount of cream raw material supplied from the cream container 45 via the chute 47 with a predetermined amount of hot water supplied from the hot water tank 5 via the hot water valve 48, and passes the pipe 38 to the cup 38. To supply. From this, coffee beverages (black, with sugar, with cream, with sugar cream) according to customer preferences can be sold.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a view showing the inside of the pump 12. The gears 50 and 51 are arranged in the pump 12 so as to mesh with each other, and the gear 50 rotates counterclockwise around the fulcrum 52 and the gear 51 rotates clockwise around the fulcrum 53, Hot water from the tank 5 is pushed by the teeth of the gears 50 and 51 and sent to the first hot water pipe 15. The pressurizing force of the pump 12 increases in proportion to the rotation speed of the gears 50 and 51, and the gears 50 and 51 are rotated by a motor (not shown). Therefore, the pump 12 can be set to a desired pressure by controlling the rotational speed of the motor based on the pressure detection signal of the pressure sensor 16 and the flow rate detection signal of the flow sensor 17.
[0023]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the control operation of the cup type vending machine of the present invention.
[0024]
In FIG. 3, a main control unit 54 controls the control of the cup type vending machine, and includes a ROM 54a, a CPU 54b, and a RAM 54c. The ROM 54a is a non-volatile memory in which program instructions for controlling a plurality of subordinate control units to be described later are stored in advance, a mask ROM that burns and fixes data in the manufacturing process, and data is repeated by erasing the data with ultraviolet rays. Either an EPROM that can be written and read, or an EEPROM (including a flash ROM) that can repeatedly write and read data by electrically erasing the data may be used. The CPU 54b is a PC (program counter) that designates an execution address of the ROM 54a, an IDEC (instruction decoder) that decodes a read instruction from the ROM 54a, an ALU (arithmetic logic unit) that performs logical operations, and an ACC (accumulator) that temporarily stores arithmetic data. Etc., and a plurality of sub-control units are controlled in accordance with the result of decoding the read command from the ROM 54a. The RAM 54c is a volatile memory such as an SRAM in which the calculation results of the CPU 54b, various data from a plurality of slave control units, and the like are stored.
[0025]
The input control unit 55, the coin processing control unit (money processing control unit) 56, the banknote processing control unit (money processing control unit) 57, the customer service control unit 58, and the sales control unit 59 correspond to a plurality of sub control units. Like the control unit 54, a ROM, a CPU, and a RAM are incorporated.
[0026]
The terminal device 60 includes a keyboard and a liquid crystal display unit, and is used for price setting, column setting, and the like. The input control unit 55 is connected to the terminal device 60 and controls data input / output between the main control unit 54 and the terminal device 60.
[0027]
The coin discriminating machine (coin mechanism) 61 is provided with a change change sensor for detecting change change, receives coins inserted from the coin insertion slot, and returns change from the change return slot as necessary. The coin processing control unit 56 controls the coin discriminator 61 to perform selection such as denomination and correctness of input coins, calculation of the number of denominations, storage in a safe, and change change. The bill validator (bill validator) 62 is provided with a bill-out sensor that detects when the bill is out, as with the coin discriminator 61, receives bills inserted from the bill insertion slot, and changes the bill as needed. Returned from the return port. The banknote processing control unit 57 controls the banknote discriminator 62 to perform the selection of the denomination and correctness of inserted banknotes, the calculation of the number of denominations, the storage in a safe, the withdrawal of a bill, and the like. The coin processing control unit 56 and the banknote processing control unit 57 execute a processing operation each time coins are inserted and banknotes are inserted.
[0028]
The customer service unit 63 includes a plurality of product selection buttons provided corresponding to a plurality of types of sales beverages, a sales enable lamp and a sold-out lamp provided on each of the product selection buttons to display whether the sales beverages can be sold or sold out. , A display window for displaying sale, sale suspension, and change of money, and a money amount display window for displaying the total amount of coins inserted and bills inserted and the amount of change. Normally, a plurality of product selection buttons are assigned coffee beverages, syrup beverages, etc. extracted from ground beans, but in the embodiment of the present invention, only extracted coffee beverages are assigned for convenience of explanation. To do. The customer service control unit 58 controls the customer service unit 63. The customer service control unit 58 displays the total amount of the coin insertion amount and the bill insertion amount calculated by the main control unit 54 based on the money type number data from the coin processing control unit 56 and the banknote processing control unit 57 in the amount display window. Or which of the plurality of product selection buttons is pressed, a detection signal at this time is transmitted to the main control unit 54, and the change amount obtained by subtracting the beverage sales amount from the total amount is displayed in the amount display window. In the display window, the sales stop lamp or the sold-out lamp for each beverage to be sold is turned on. Further, the customer service control unit 58 generates an external interrupt request signal and transmits it to the main control unit 54 when detecting that the product selection button corresponding to the extracted coffee beverage is pressed.
[0029]
The sales unit 64 includes a sales mechanism for extracting the coffee beverage shown in FIG. The sales control unit 59 controls the sales unit 64 to supply the coffee beverage desired by the customer to the cup 38 in accordance with the sales instruction from the main control unit 54.
[0030]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control relationship between the sales control unit 59 and the sales unit 64.
[0031]
In FIG. 4, the sales control unit 59 includes a ROM 65, a CPU 66, and a RAM 67 as well as a main control unit 54 and other sub control units, and also includes a timer 68. The ROM 65 stores various table information such as hot water temperature, pressure, and flow rate in addition to program instructions for controlling the sales mechanism of FIG. The timer 68 counts a one-second signal obtained by dividing the self-running or other-running oscillation clock by a predetermined frequency.
[0032]
Specifically, the sales control unit 59
(1) Open / close control of intake valve 4 according to ON / OFF of float switch 3,
(2) Open / close control of the solenoid valve 8 according to the on / off state of the float switch 7,
(3) ON / OFF control of the power supply unit 10 according to the temperature detected by the hot water temperature sensor 11
(4) Pressure control of the pump 12 according to the detected pressure of the pressure sensor 16 and the detected flow rate of the flow sensor 17;
(5) Opening / closing control of the return valve 14 when the detected pressure of the pressure sensor 16 and the detected flow rate of the flow sensor 17 exceed the pressure control range of the pump 12 (6) Extracted hot water valve based on a sales instruction from the main control unit 54 20. Opening / closing control of hot water valve 43 and hot water valve 48 (7) Metering control of meter 24 based on sales instruction from main controller 54 (8) Mill motor 23 and piston motor 29 based on sales instruction from main controller 54 , ON / OFF control of cap motor 32 (9) A series of sales control based on a sales instruction from the main control unit 54 is executed, ie, a predetermined amount discharge control of the sugar in the sugar container 40 and the cream raw material in the cream container 45.
[0033]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the reflux operation in the series of sales operations in FIG. The reflux operation is executed under the control of the sales control unit 59 by the sales unit 64 (entire configuration in FIG. 1).
[0034]
First, the customer service control unit 58 determines whether or not the product selection button corresponding to the extracted coffee beverage has been pressed after coin insertion or banknote insertion [S1].
[0035]
If it is determined that the product selection button has been pressed [S1: YES], the customer service control unit 58 generates the above external interrupt request signal. When the external interrupt request signal is transmitted, the main control unit 54 transmits an instruction signal for selling the extracted coffee beverage to the sales control unit 59, and the sales control unit 59 [S2].
[0036]
When the sales control unit 59 determines that the instruction signal from the main control unit 54 has been supplied [S2: YES], the sales control unit 59 enables the timer 68 and resets it to count the 1 second signal. [S3].
[0037]
First, the extraction hot water valve 20 is opened, and the low temperature hot water staying in the first hot water pipe 15 is returned to the hot water tank 5 through the second hot water pipe 19 in a state where the pressure of the pump 12 is applied. At this time, the pressurizing force of the pump 12 is controlled to be a pressure that does not pass through the check valve 18 based on the pressure detection signal of the pressure sensor 16 and the flow rate detection signal of the flow rate sensor 17. Thereby, when extracting a coffee drink from the extractor 26, it is possible to prevent the low temperature hot water staying in the first hot water pipe 15 from being supplied to the extractor 26 as it is. In consideration of the volume of the hot water tank 5, the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 5, the output of the heater 9, etc., if the extraction hot water valve 20 is opened and the recirculation operation is executed for several seconds, it passes through the first hot water pipe 15. The temperature of the hot water rises to the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 5 [S4].
[0038]
Therefore, the sales control unit 59 determines whether or not the timer 68 has counted a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds) [S5].
[0039]
If the timer 68 has not yet counted 3 seconds, the reflux operation is continued [S5: NO].
[0040]
When the timer 68 counts 3 seconds [S5: YES], in the sales control unit 59, the timer 68 stops counting the 1 second signal and is disabled [S6].
[0041]
And the sales control part 59 closes the extraction hot water valve 20, and complete | finishes recirculation | reflux operation [S7].
[0042]
Thereafter, the sales control unit 59 controls the sales mechanism of FIG. 1 so that the coffee beverage according to the customer's preference can be supplied to the cup 38 [S8].
[0043]
From this, when extracting a coffee drink, since the low temperature hot water which retains in the 1st hot water pipe 15 is not supplied to the extractor 26, it can solve the problem of inhibiting the extraction degree of ground beans and the taste of the extracted coffee drink. become.
[0044]
In the embodiment of the present invention, the customer service control unit 58 generates an external interrupt request signal and transmits it to the main control unit 54 when the product selection button of the service unit 63 is pressed. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment of the present invention. When a coin is inserted or a bill is inserted, the coin processing control unit 56 or the bill processing control unit 57 generates an external interrupt request signal to the main control unit 54. You may make it transmit. In this case, the sales time of the extracted coffee beverage can be shortened compared to when the customer service control unit 58 generates an external interrupt request signal. In the embodiment of the present invention, the case where a coffee beverage is extracted has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment of the present invention, and any beverage may be used as long as the beverage can obtain the same effect as the present invention by closing the extraction hot water valve 20 and performing the reflux operation.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, in the cup-type vending machine according to claim 1, in the cup-type vending machine for extracting beverages such as tea and coffee with the extractor by supplying hot water from the hot water tank to the extractor, a first hot water pipe for supplying hot water from the hot water tank to the extractor, branched from the first water pipe, and a second hot water pipe for returning hot water from the hot water tank to the hot water tank, monetary On the basis of a detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of a drop and the detection output of the detection unit when the money is dropped , hot water from the hot water tank is passed through the first and second hot water pipes to the hot water tank. And a control means for refluxing, so that wasteful reflux can be prevented and hot water can be heated to a high temperature. Furthermore, since the hot water is recirculated when money is dropped, the beverage sales time can be shortened.
[0049]
Furthermore, in the cup-type vending machine according to claim 2, the control means sets the first hot water pipe from the branch position to the second hot water pipe, with the hot water supply direction to the extractor as the forward direction. A check valve disposed on the downstream side, an electromagnetic valve disposed on the second hot water pipe and opened when the hot water returns to the hot water tank, and disposed on the upstream side of the first hot water pipe And a pump that pumps hot water in a quantity of water that does not pass through the check valve when the hot water is recirculated to the hot water tank. It is possible to prevent an increase in cost and to prevent the control for extraction from becoming complicated.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall view showing an example of a sales mechanism to which a cup type vending machine according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a view showing the inside of the pump of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a portion for controlling the cup type vending machine of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram showing control between the sales control unit and the sales unit in FIG. 4; FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a reflux operation.
[Explanation of symbols]
5 Hot water tank 12 Pump 15 1st hot water pipe 18 Check valve 19 2nd hot water pipe 20 Extracted hot water valve 26 Extractor 54 Main control part 56 Coin processing control part 57 Banknote processing control part 58 Customer service control part 59 Sales control part

Claims (2)

In a cup-type vending machine for extracting beverages such as tea and coffee with the extractor by supplying hot water from the hot water tank to the extractor, a first hot water pipe for supplying hot water from the hot water tank to the extractor If, branched from the first water pipe, and a second hot water pipe for returning hot water from the hot water tank to the hot water tank, a detector for detecting the presence or absence of money invested, when said money invested is made A cup-type vending machine comprising: control means for recirculating hot water from the hot water tank to the hot water tank through the first and second hot water pipes based on the detection output of the detecting section. Machine. The control means includes a check valve disposed downstream of a branch position of the first hot water pipe to the second hot water pipe, with a hot water supply direction to the extractor as a forward direction, An electromagnetic valve disposed in the second hot water pipe and opened when the hot water is returned to the hot water tank; and disposed on the upstream side of the first hot water pipe and the check is returned when the hot water is returned to the hot water tank. 2. The cup type vending machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a pump that pumps hot water at a water supply amount that does not pass through the valve .

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