JPH03276296A - Cup holding device of cup type automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute the device so that even a cup in which the diameter of its opening part is different, and even a cup whose height is different can be held in a stable state by providing a controller for controlling the opening/ closing of a cup grip piece in accordance with the diameter of the opening part of the cup to be fed out, and also, adjusting a height position of a supporting member in accordance with height of the cup. CONSTITUTION:The device is provided with a cup grip piece 13A of an opening/ closing type for gripping both sides of a cup fed out by a start of a sales operation, and a supporting member 9 of a vertical movement type for supporting a buttom part of the cup. In such a state, a controller controls the opening/ closing of the cup grip piece 13A in accordance with the diameter of an opening part of the cup which is fed out, and also, adjusts a height position of the supporting member 9 in accordance with height of this cup. Accordingly, the cup fed out of a cup supply device 3 can be received and held in a state that it does not lean to any direction of the left and the right but is erect. In such a way, irrespective of whether the diameter of the opening part of the cup is large or small, even the cup whose height is different can always be held in the same level in an erect state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention provides a cup-type vending machine that dispenses a cup upon the start of a vending operation and dispenses a beverage into the cup for sale. The present invention relates to a cup holding device for keeping a cup in an upright position.

(B) Prior Art Such a cup holding device includes a pair of cup guides that are arranged oppositely at appropriate intervals and support the delivered cup in an upright position, and a liftable cup guide that forms a landing surface for the cup. Equipped with a stage, for example, Utility Model No. 61-813
A configuration as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 83 has been proposed. In such a cup holding device, at least one of the pair of cup guides is generally swingably attached so that the customer can easily take out the cup.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the conventional cup holding device, when trying to sell beverages using cups with different opening diameters, the distance between the cup guides supporting the cups is constant. , hold the delivered cup upright,
It was difficult to hold the device in that position when pouring a drink.

Also, when trying to sell drinks selectively into cups of different heights, the stage position must be lowered in the case of taller cups; There is an issue that cannot be fully addressed unless there is something in place.

Furthermore, when trying to sell straws by inserting them into sales cups, the following problems arise.

In other words, when a straw is fed into a cup that is supplied with ice, the straw is blocked by the ice and cannot enter the force jib, and unless the end that does not come into contact with the ice is supported, it will come out of the cup. You will end up falling down. A possible solution to this problem is to support the end of the straw that does not come into contact with the ice within the straw chute. However, in a cup-type vending machine that selectively dispenses beverages into cups of different heights, the device remains in the straw chute to accommodate the taller cups. If the length is set, the straw may fall out of the straw chute if the cup is short. Also, if you set the length of the straw that remains in the straw chute to suit a short cup, if the cup is tall, the length of the straw that remains in the straw chute will be large, and the force will be increased. It becomes difficult to remove the disc.

Therefore, the present invention provides a force/cump holding device in which the distance between a pair of cup guides and the position of the cup contact surface can be adjusted according to the size of the cup to be sold.

B) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the force/pump holding device according to the present invention includes an opening/closing type force/pump gripping piece that grips both sides of a cup sent out at the start of a vending operation; A vertically movable support member for supporting the bottom of the cup, and a support member that controls the opening and closing of the cup gripping piece according to the force sent out and the diameter of the opening of the pump when the cup is delivered, and a height of the cup. and a control device that adjusts the height position of the support member according to the height position of the support member.

(e) With the start of the action selling operation, the control device controls the opening and closing of the force/pull gripping piece according to the diameter of the opening of the cup to be delivered, and also controls the height of the support member according to the height of the cup. Adjust the position. Thereby, the cup holding device can hold the cup delivered from the cup feeding device in an upright state without being biased in either the right or left direction. Even when cups of various sizes are delivered, the height position of the opening of the cup is always constant, so that the cup can be held in a stable state.

(F) Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a cup-type vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, vending ports 8, which serve as cup retrieval locations, are distributed throughout the aircraft. 1 is a rail arranged horizontally in the cabinet 10 of the vending machine, and 2 is a cup holding device slidably mounted on this rail 1, which moves on the rail 1 to the supply position a. and the cup take-out position. At the supply position a and the cup take-out position 1b, there are sensors Sl and S for detecting the moving cup holding device 2.
2 are placed respectively.

A cup feeding device 3 is provided above the feeding position a.

This cup supply device 3 stores two types of cups, 16 oz and 9 oz, and during a sales operation, sends out one of the cups to the supply position a via the cup chute 7 according to the customer's designation.

Also, at the supply position a, an ice discharge hose 5 from the ice maker 5 is provided.
A and a beverage dispensing nozzle 6A from the beverage supply device F [6 are respectively arranged.

The beverage supply device 6 prepares a beverage in response to a product selection operation by a customer, and pours the prepared beverage into the cup through a beverage dispensing nozzle 6A while the cup holding device 2 holds the cup. do. At this time, the beverage supply device 6 prepares a carbonated beverage by diluting syrup with carbonated water, or dissolves a powdered raw material such as coffee in hot water and adds sugar and milk as necessary to make a coffee beverage. Mix. Similarly, when the customer selects a product, the ice maker 5 also sends ice through the ice discharge hose 5A into the cup held by the cup holding device 2.

The cup take-out position corresponds to the vending port 8 through which a customer takes out a vending cup from the vending machine, and at this position there is a cup rest 9 for receiving and taking out vending cups from the cup holding device 2. It is set up. This cup rest 9
is adapted to move up and down depending on the height of the cup to be sold.

In addition, there is a straw supply wave r above the cup take-out position.
L4 is provided, and this straw supply device 4 delivers straws to the cup held by the cup holding device 2 at the time of sale.

The cup holding wave WL2 receives the cup delivered to the supply position a, and when the beverage and ice are supplied to this cup, moves to the sales outlet 8, and after placing the cup for sale on the cup rest 9, Return to supply position a. This allows the customer to pick up the cup placed on the cup rest 9.

Next, according to FIGS. 2 to 8, the cup holding device 2
And the cup rest 9 will be explained.

First, the cup holding device 2 includes a slider 11 slidably mounted on the rail 1, a pair of cup gripping pieces 13A and 13B attached to the slider 11 for holding the cup 12, and a bottom portion of the cup 12. The cup holder 15 includes a support member 14 for supporting the cup holder.

The slider 11 is urged by the drive device IA to reciprocate on the rail 1.
A pinion 17 that meshes with a rack 16 provided on the back of the
It is composed of a drive motor 18. Also slider 11
is equipped with two pairs of upper and lower rollers 41 and 42 that sandwich and support the protrusion 40 on which the rack 16 is formed from above and below, and a roller that rotates in the roller receiver 43 provided at the lower end of the rail 1 below. A set of rollers 4 that move while moving
4 are provided.

The pair of cup gripping pieces 13A, 13B are attached to one end of the operating levers 20A, 20B, which are pivotally supported by a pair of shafts 22 erected on the base 21 of the cup holder 15.
19B. This operating lever 20A
, 20B are biased by springs 23A and 23B attached to the upper machine frame 25 of the cup holder 15 in a direction in which they repel each other. The other rotating ends of the actuating levers 20A and 20B are bent toward the center and connected to each other, and this connecting portion 45 comes into contact with a cam 46.

When the connecting portion 45 is in contact with the recessed portion of the cam 46 as shown in FIG.
The cup gripping piece 13A is biased by A and 23B to rotate in directions that repel each other.

13B is open. Further, when the connecting portion 45 is in the state shown in FIG. 4 or FIG.
23B and rotate toward the center of each other, and in this state, the cup can be gripped by the cup gripping pieces 13A and 13B. Therefore, in this example,
The cam 46 controls the gripping operation of the cup by the cup gripping pieces 13A and 13B.

The support member 14 is attached to a mounting plate 26 that is vertically slidable along a pair of guide shafts 24 and 25 erected on the base 21, and the end portion on the side that is attached to the mounting plate 26 is is inserted into a cam groove 28 formed in the cylindrical cam 27. This cam groove 28 is formed in the support member 14 by rotation of the cylindrical cam 27.
A groove is formed so that the can move vertically.

The cam 46 and the cylindrical cam 27 are integrally formed, and their common cam shaft 29 is coupled to the drive shaft of the drive motor 32 through gears 30 and 31, and a rotating disk 48 is provided on the upper part. is installed. This rotary disk 48 is provided with a protruding plate 49, and the protruding plate 49 crosses the rotational circumference of the protruding plate 49 as the rotating disk 48 rotates, thereby blocking light. A sensor S10-514 is arranged to detect the rotation angle position (9th
figure). These sensors 510 to S14 are connected to the standby state of the cup holding device 2, the small cup gripping state, the small cup released state,
This is for detecting the rotational angular position of the cam 46 in each mode of the large cup gripping state and the large cup releasing state.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cup gripping pieces 13A and 13B are gripping a large cup, and the connecting portion 45 is in contact with the convex portion 46a of the cam 46. In addition, in this state, the bar 14 is rotated by the rotation of the cylindrical cam 27 interlocking with the cam 46.
is guided by the cam groove 28 and moved downward to a position where it can support the bottom of the large cup (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 7).

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the cup gripping pieces 13A and 13B are gripping a small cup, and the connecting portion 45 is in contact with the convex portion 46b of the cam 46. and.

In this state, the cylindrical cam 27 interlocking with the cam 46
As a result of the rotation, the support member 14 is guided by the cam groove 28 and moved upward to a position where it can support the bottom of the small cup (the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 7).

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the cup gripping pieces 13A and 13B are opened to release the large cup, and the connecting portion 45
is in contact with the recess 46c of the cam 46.

The cup rest 9 can be moved up and down according to the cup size to be sold by the action of a lifting mechanism 50. The elevating mechanism 50 includes a pair of shafts 52 that are inserted into holes 51 formed in the cup rest 9, and the shafts 52 are connected to the motor 51 via a crank mechanism 53, as shown by the solid line in FIG. It is designed to reciprocate between the small cup support position shown by and the large cup support position shown by the broken line. Moreover, a notch 34 is formed in the cup rest 9 to receive the support member 14 that advances when the cup holding device 2 approaches.

When the above cup type vending machine is given a sales command,
When a large cup is specified, the cup holding device 2 puts the cup gripping pieces 13A and 13B into a state where they can grip the large cup, and the elevating mechanism 50 allows the cup rest 9 to hold the large cup. Set to height position. After the cup holding device 2 holds the large cup delivered from the cup feeding device 3,
The cup holding the ice and beverages supplied from the ice maker 5 and the beverage supply device ff6 is received, and then moved to the cup takeout position Mb.

At this time, at the cup take-out position, the cup rest 9 is at a height that can support the bottom of the large cup held by the cup holding device 2, so the cup holding device 2 approaches the cup rest 9. Then support member 1
4 is received within the notch 34.

When the cup holding device 2 reaches the cup take-out position, is detected by the sensor S2, and stops moving, the straw supply device 7 is operated to feed a straw to the cup held by the cup holding device 2.

When the straw is delivered to the cup, the cup holding device 2 releases its grip on the cup and places the cup on the cup rest 9. Thereafter, the drive device IA urges the cup holding device 2 to move on the rail 1 in the direction of arrow B, and the sensor S
Stop the drive detected in 1. Therefore, the customer can take out the cup placed on the cup rest 9 from the sales outlet 8.

Furthermore, when a small cup is specified, the cup holding device 2 puts the cup gripping pieces 13A and 13B into a state where they grip the small cup, and the elevator ll! 50 positions the cup rest 9'' at a height that can hold a small cup.

Then, the same operation as for the large cup is performed, and the small cup is placed on the cup rest 9 in such a manner that it can be taken out by the customer.

When the straw is removed, even if the straw sent out from the straw supply device 7 is not blocked by ice and does not enter the cup, the amount remaining in the straw chute 4A is constant, so the back of the cup is There is no need for the straw to come off due to the height of the cup, or for the cup to be difficult to take out.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the cup holding device, when a cup is fed out to be held by a cup holding piece that can be opened and closed, it can be held on either the left or right side regardless of the diameter of the opening. It can be held securely in an upright position without leaning too far.

Further, since the height position of the opening of the cup is always maintained at the same level even in cups having different heights, beverages, ice, and straw can be reliably delivered to the cup.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the cup-type vending machine according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is an external perspective view of the cup holding device seen from the front, and Fig. 3 is an external perspective view of the cup holding device seen from the rear of the rail. Figure 4 shows the cup holding device gripping a large cup, Figure 5 shows the cup holding device gripping a small cup, and Figure 6 shows the cup holding device gripping a small cup. Figure 7 is a side view of the cup holding device, Figure 8 is the configuration of the lifting mechanism, Figure 9 is the cam and the rotation in conjunction with this cam. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement relationship between a rotating disk and a sensor for detecting the rotational angular position of a cam. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Rail, IA--Drive device, 2...Cup holding device, 3...Large cup supply device, 4...Small cup supply device, 8...Sales outlet, 9... cup rest,
46...Cam (control device), 50... Lifting mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cup-type vending machine that dispenses a cup upon the start of a vending operation and pours a beverage into the cup for sale. A vertically movable support member for supporting the bottom of the cup, and when the cup is delivered, the opening and closing of the cup gripping piece is controlled according to the diameter of the opening of the delivered cup, and the opening and closing of the cup gripping piece is controlled according to the height of the cup. A cup holding device for a cup-type vending machine, comprising a control device for adjusting the height position of the support member.