JPH04128993A - Automatic cup type drink vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an automatic cup type drink vending machine possible to supply the customer with drink finished at stable quality at all times by temporarily reserving extracted drink in a reservoir and further by applying air pressure to drink to feed pressurized drink to a cup. CONSTITUTION:The middle part of a pipe 6 opening to a cup 1 is equipped with a temporary reservoir 10 that reserves hot water or hot drink temporarily and further that has an air pump 12 for feeding pressurized drink to the cup 1. Furthermore, the temporary reservoir 10 temporarily reserves hot water sent from a hot water tank 3 or hot drink extracted by a drink extractor 4, followed by feeding pressurized hot drink with the aid of air pressure introduced from the air pump 12 to the reservoir to the cup 1, thereby jetting hot water or drink from the pipe nozzle 6a and pouring it in to the cup to strongly agitate powdered raw material in the cup 1. Thereby, quality and tasty drink with no residual raw material left undissolved can be supplied and sold to customers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cup-type beverage vending machine that mixes and sells beverages in a cup, and particularly to a cooking section that produces beverages.

[Conventional technology]

In the cup-type automatic beverage crinkle vending machine described above, the cup is taken out from the cup supply mechanism based on the sales instruction, and powdered raw materials (for example, powdered raw materials such as instant coffee and cocoa) are added to the cup as necessary. Powdered milk and sand W) are added, followed by hot water to dissolve the powdered ingredients in the cup, and then additional hot water is added to the cup, or cold water or ice is added to make hot or cold drinks. Products that have been completed and made available for sale have already been commercialized.

In addition, when selling regular coffee etc. with the above-mentioned cup-type beverage vending machine, first put powdered raw materials such as powdered milk and sugar into the power knob, then regular coffee extracted with a separate coffee brewer. I try to finish it by pouring it into a cup.

Figure 6 shows the conventional configuration of a beverage preparation section, taking as an example a cup-type beverage vending machine that sells beverages made from powder such as instant coffee and cocoa, and Reggiera coffee. is a cup, 2 is a cup conveyance mechanism installed in the machine, 3 is a hot water tank, 4 is a beverage extractor exclusively for regular coffee, a nozzle 6a of a hot water supply pipe 6 drawn out from the hot water tank 3 via a hot water supply valve 5, and a hot water supply Valve 7. A nozzle 8a of a beverage pipe 8 drawn out through the extractor 4 opens above the movement path of the cup 1. Although not shown, in addition to the cooking section, a cup supply mechanism, a powder raw material box, a piping nozzle drawn out from a cold water tank, an ice maker, etc. are provided along the conveyance path of the cup conveyance mechanism 2.

Here, when selling instant coffee, cocoa, etc., powder raw material 9 is put into the cup 1 taken out from the cup supply mechanism from the powder raw material box corresponding to the sales beverage while the cup is being conveyed, and then At the beverage cooking section shown in FIG. 6, a predetermined amount of hot water is poured into the cup through the hot water supply pipe 6 to dissolve the powdered raw material 9. If hot coffee is selected, hot water equivalent to the finished amount of the beverage is poured into the cup to create a hot beverage, and then the cup is sent directly to the product outlet, and if iced coffee is selected, , Powder raw material 9 by injecting a small amount of hot water
After melting, cold water and ice are supplied into the cup to create a cold beverage, which is then sent to the product outlet.

On the other hand, when selling regular coffee, first put powdered raw materials such as powdered milk and sugar into a cup, and then supply coffee bean powder and hot water to the extractor 4 at the position shown in Figure 6. Regular coffee extracted (at high temperature) is poured into the cup 1 from the extractor 4 through the beverage pipe 8, and the powdered raw material contained in the cup is dissolved. In addition,
Hot Coffee Depending on the iced coffee selection, hot or cold beverages are prepared and sold in the same manner as the instant coffee described above.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, in the conventional beverage cooking method described above, the hot water tank 3. Or hot water supplied from the extractor 4 (beverage extractor exclusively for regular coffee), regular coffee to the hot water supply piping 6. The beverage is poured into the cup 1 in a gravity flow manner through the beverage piping 8.

However, in the gravity flow type, the force for stirring the powder raw material 9 in the cup is weak, and for this reason, the powder raw material 9 often remains dissolved at the bottom of the cup.

Moreover, if there is any remaining powdered raw material, it will not be possible to provide high-quality beverages to customers.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and provides an effective stirring force to the powdered raw material in the cup to ensure that it dissolves when hot water or high-temperature beverage is poured into the cup in the beverage cooking section. Our objective is to provide a cup-type beverage vending machine that can prepare and sell high-quality, delicious beverages without leaving any residue.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above problems, the cup-type beverage vending machine of the present invention temporarily retains the hot water or high-temperature beverage in a container in the middle of the piping opening toward the cup, and further air It shall be equipped with a temporary holding device with an air pump that pumps air into the cup under pressure.

Here, the above-mentioned temporary holding device is a system consisting of a container interposed in the middle of piping, a valve mechanism for opening and closing the inlet and outlet of the container, and an air pump connected to the container, In order to prevent the sent beverage from remaining in the container of the temporary holding device, after discharging the hot beverage held in the container of the temporary holding device to the cambu,
It is best to wash the container again by pouring a small amount of hot water into it.

Furthermore, in order to prevent the beverage from foaming in the cup, a portion of the hot water or high-temperature beverage that was retained in the container of the temporary retention device is forced into the cup using pressurized air introduced from an air pump, and the remainder is It is best to pour it into the cup in a gravity flow manner.

[Effect]

The above temporary holding device temporarily holds the hot water sent from the hot water tank or the beverage extracted by the beverage extractor in the container, and then pressurizes the container with pressurized air introduced from the air pump into the container. This functions to force feed the liquid toward the cup. As a result, the hot water and beverage are jetted out from the piping nozzle more forcefully than by natural flow and are injected into the cup, strongly stirring the powdered raw material contained in the cup.

Therefore, the powdered raw material is reliably dissolved without any remaining melt.

Additionally, if a beverage extracted with a beverage extractor (for example, regular coffee) is discharged from the container of the temporary holding device into a cup and left unattended, the beverage scum remaining on the container may contaminate the next beverage sold. There is a risk of spoiling the flavor.

Therefore, after the beverage extracted by the beverage extractor passes through a temporary holding device, a small amount of hot water is supplied to rinse the container.
There is no possibility that the beverage slag from the previous time will be mixed in at the next sale.

Furthermore, for beverages that tend to foam, such as coffee and cocoa, if hot water or the beverage extracted with a beverage extractor is continued to be forcefully fed into the cup, a large amount of foam will occur in the cup, causing the finished product to deteriorate. This will damage the appearance and flavor of the beverage.Therefore, the liquid feeding process for injecting the liquid from the temporary holding device into the cup is divided into two steps, the first half and the second half. By stirring, dissolving, and pouring in a gravity flow in the latter half of the liquid feeding process, the amount of foaming in the cup can be kept to a minimum.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Note that the same parts corresponding to FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals.

First, in FIG. 1, a hot water supply pipe 6 drawn out from a hot water tank 3 joins a beverage pipe 8 passing through a beverage extractor 4, and a temporary holding device designated by the symbol IO is located downstream of the joining point. is equipped in the middle.

The detailed structure of this temporary holding device IO is as shown in FIG.
an air pump 12 that is connected to the body of the air pump 12 and introduces pressurized air;
It is composed of a valve mechanism 13 described below. Here, the valve mechanism 13 is arranged on the axis of the valve rod 14 at the inlet of the container 11,
It consists of a valve body 15 , 16 facing the outlet, a biasing spring 17 that pushes up the valve rod 14 , and an opening/closing control cam 19 driven by a motor 18 .

With this configuration, pressurized air is introduced into the container 11 when the air pump 12 is operated. Further, in the valve mechanism 13, the upper valve body 15 closes the inlet of the container 11 in the illustrated state, and when the control cam 19 is rotated by the motor 18 from here, the valve rod 14 is pushed down in accordance with the shape of the cam. At the same time as the inlet of the container 11 is opened, the lower valve body 16 is switched to close the outlet.

Next, the operation of feeding hot water or extracted beverage in the beverage cooking section including the above-mentioned temporary holding device will be explained. first,
In the sales standby state, the valve mechanism 13 of the temporary holding device IO is in the second position.
In the state shown in the figure, the air pump 12 is stopped.

On the other hand, when the hot water supplied from the hot water tank 3 or the beverage extracted by the beverage extractor 4 (hereinafter the above-mentioned hot water or beverages are collectively referred to as "liquid") is supplied at the time of sale, The valve mechanism 13 is switched to the operating position at the correct timing to close the outlet of the container 11. As a result, the liquid is retained in the container 11 without directly encountering the temporary retention device IO. Next, the valve mechanism 13 is switched to the illustrated position again to open the inlet of the container 11, and at the same time, the air pump 12 is started. Then, pressurized air is introduced into the container 11. Therefore, the liquid that has been retained in the container until now is forcibly discharged from the outlet of container II under air pressure, and
The liquid is forcefully ejected from the piping nozzle 6a toward the cup 1 waiting in the position shown in the figure.
The powdered raw material 9 contained in the container is strongly agitated by the water jet to ensure that it is completely dissolved without leaving any residue.

3 to 5 are time charts showing the actual operation of the beverage cooking section described above.

First, Figure 3 shows the operation when making a beverage by pouring hot water into the powdered raw material (instant coffee, cocoa, etc.) that was put into the cup in the previous stage, and the valve mechanism 13 of the temporary holding device 10 is moved to the operating position. The hot water supply is turned on with the outlet of the container 11 closed, and the hot water is temporarily retained in the container. Subsequently, the air pump 12 is started, and at the same time the valve mechanism 13 is started.
is switched to open the outlet of the container 11, and the liquid held in the container is forced into the cup by air pressure.

Figure 4 shows the operation when pouring a beverage extracted by the beverage extractor 4, such as regular coffee, into a cup (which already contains powdered ingredients such as powdered milk). After pressure-feeding the beverage from the container 11 of the temporary holding device IO to the cup 1, the valve mechanism 13 is switched again to supply a small amount of hot water from the hot water tank 3 to the container 11 to remove the beverage stuck inside. Wash off the residue.

Then, when the valve mechanism 13 switches to the standby position, the cleaning hot water accumulated in the container is discharged and dropped into the cup in a gravity flow manner, thereby preventing the possibility that the beverage sludge from the previous time will be mixed into the beverage at the next sale. disappears.

FIG. 5 shows a liquid feeding operation that suppresses the amount of foaming especially for beverages that easily foam, such as cocoa and coffee. The liquid feeding process to be injected is divided into the first half and the second half, and in the first half of the liquid feeding process, the air pump 12 is operated to forcefully transfer a part of the liquid reserved in the container 11, and in the second half of the liquid feeding process, the air pump 12 is stopped. The remaining amount of liquid is then poured into the cup in a gravity flow manner. This allows the powdered raw materials in the cup to be effectively stirred and dissolved during the first half of the liquid feeding process, while also reducing the amount of foam generated during the entire liquid feeding process. It can be suppressed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the cup-type beverage vending machine of the present invention provides an exciting effect.

In the configurations of claims 1 and 2, the hot water or the beverage extracted with the beverage extractor is temporarily held in the holding device, and is further pressure-fed to the cup by air pressure, so that the powder that has been previously put into the cup is Stirs raw materials effectively without leaving any dissolved residue.
It can be dissolved, which allows customers to always make drinks of stable quality.

In addition, in claim 3, the container of the temporary holding device is rinsed with hot water at the final stage of the beverage feeding process for each sales operation, so that the beverage dregs from the previous sale may be mixed in with the next sale beverage, resulting in flavor loss. Problems such as damage can be avoided.

Furthermore, in claim 4, the liquid feeding process from the temporary holding device is divided into the first half and the second half, and in the first half, the liquid is fed under air pressure, and in the second half, it is poured into the cup in a gravity flow manner. In particular, even in beverages that easily foam, such as cocoa and coffee, the generation of foam can be suppressed to a minimum, resulting in a high-quality beverage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a piping diagram showing a beverage cooking section according to an embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the temporary holding device in Figure 1, Figures 3, 4, and 5 are time charts showing the different liquid feeding operations, and Figure 6 is a conventional cup-type beverage vending machine. In Figure 0, which is a piping diagram of the beverage cooking part of the machine, there are cup, 3: hot water tank, 4: beverage extractor, 6: hot water supply piping, 6a: nozzle, 7: beverage piping, 9: powder raw material, 1
0 knee holding device, 11: Container, 12: Air pump, 1
3: Valve mechanism. Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) After putting the powdered raw material into a cup based on a sales directive, hot water or a high-temperature beverage extracted with a separate beverage extractor is poured into the cup in the beverage cooking section to remove the powdered raw material. In a cup-type beverage vending machine that melts hot or cold beverages and sells them, hot water or beverages are temporarily stored in a container in the middle of the piping that opens toward the cup. , a cup-type beverage vending machine further comprising a temporary holding device with an air pump that pressurizes air to feed the cup toward the cup. 2) In the cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, the temporary holding device comprises a container interposed in the middle of the piping, a valve mechanism for opening and closing the inlet and outlet of the container, and an air pump connected to the container. A cup-type beverage vending machine comprising: 3) In the cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, after the high-temperature beverage held in the container of the temporary holding device is discharged into the cup, a small amount of hot water is poured into the container again to wash the container. Features a cup-type beverage vending machine. 4) In the cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, a portion of the hot water or high-temperature beverage held in the container of the temporary holding device is forced into the cup using pressurized air introduced from the air pump, and the rest is naturally drained. A cup-type beverage vending machine that dispenses water into a cup in a flowing manner.