JPH0454546Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention is a hot or cold drink made by adding hot or cold diluting water to various powders or liquid ingredients such as coffee, cocoa or syrup and stirring and mixing them into a cup. The present invention relates to a raw material stirring device for a cup-type beverage vending machine that is sold in cups.

[Conventional technology]

In conventional cup-type beverage vending machines of this type, powder and liquid ingredients and hot water are delivered to a mixing bowl inside the machine according to a sales command, and after the ingredients are stirred and a beverage is prepared, the beverage is mixed. A stirring method is adopted in which the raw materials are poured from a bowl into a cup that is transported to a bending stage through a drinking hose.

However, this type of cup-type beverage vending machine has the following problems. In other words, during the beverage preparation and supply process, undissolved beverage residue remains on the inside of the mixing bowl of the raw material stirring mechanism and the beverage hose that follows it. Bacteria develops and multiplies in the slag, causing hygiene problems such as contamination with beverages the next time they are sold. Furthermore, especially when selling viscous drinks such as soups or miso soup with ingredients, the amount of adhering residue in the system increases because the drink does not flow easily and is difficult to cut out. Conventionally, this problem has been dealt with by frequently cleaning the mixing bowl and beverage hose, but this cleaning process is time-consuming and cumbersome, and the highly viscous beverage is There were problems in sales management, such as having to abandon sales due to the large amount of residual adhesion.

On the other hand, as a sales method to solve the above problems,
A cup containing powdered raw material containing powdered raw material is placed in the cup supply mechanism in advance, and hot water is directly injected into the cup containing powdered raw material, which is carried out from the cup supply mechanism to the bending stage according to a sales instruction. A vending system in which a powdered raw material and hot water are stirred and mixed to prepare a beverage using a raw material stirring means in which a stirring blade rotated by a motor is inserted into the cup by an elevating drive mechanism, or a beverage is prepared by stirring and mixing the powdered raw material and hot water. The machine is equipped with a cup transport mechanism that receives the finished cups and transports them to the product take-out port, and during the cup transport process, powder raw materials and hot water are directly supplied into the cup in order, and then the powder is transported inside the cup in the same way as in the previous method. A sales method has been proposed in which a beverage is prepared by stirring and mixing raw materials and hot water. According to this sales method, the ingredients are stirred directly in the cup, eliminating the need for a mixing bowl and subsequent drinking hoses, which are required in the conventional method. Therefore, it will be possible to sell soups, miso soup with ingredients, etc. without any restrictions on the drinks that can be sold. In addition, cup-type beverage vending machines equipped with a raw material stirring device that inserts stirring blades into the cup are
For example, it is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 54-95300.

[The problem that the idea attempts to solve]

However, in the above-mentioned in-cup stirring method, there is a problem that when the stirring blade is rotated vigorously in order to sufficiently stir and mix the ingredients, the beverage overflows or scatters from the cup. To solve this problem, it is possible to attach a cover to the cup, but this requires a drive mechanism to automatically open and close the cover in order to supply raw materials and dilution water into the cup, and to allow the stirring blades to enter the cup, which is expensive. become.

Therefore, in line with the implementation of the in-cup stirring method using stirring blades, this idea was created to create a simple and inexpensive raw material stirring device that uses an automatically opening/closing type cover and eliminates the need for a drive mechanism for the cover. The purpose is to provide.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above purpose, this invention uses liquid,
This is a raw material stirring device for a cup-type beverage vending machine that mixes the raw materials and dilution water within the cup with dilution water poured into the cup containing raw materials such as powder, and mixes the beverage. A stirring blade connected to each other, a motor support for the stirring motor, a base having a vertical sliding shaft, a lifting mechanism for driving the motor support mounted on the base, and a rotating shaft for the stirring motor. The cup cover is provided with a loose fit thereon, and a cover support stand for the cup cover, and the motor support stand is fitted and guided on the slide shaft so that it can move up and down, and the cover support The raw material stirring device is configured such that the table is fitted onto the slide shaft and guided and supported so as to move up and down in accordance with the vertical movement of the motor support table, and is supported on the motor support table. shall be.

[Effect]

The stirring motor, which has a stirring blade connected to its tip, is moved up and down by an elevating drive mechanism and a base supported by a guide, so when the stirring blade is at the top, the cup can be taken in and out, and when it is at the bottom, it can be moved inside the cup. can be stirred. The cup cover covers the cup during stirring to prevent the beverage from overflowing from the cup. Further, since the cup cover is driven by the vertical movement of the stirring motor, there is no need for a drive mechanism for the cup cover, and it is possible to accommodate cups of different heights.

〔Example〕

Figures 1 and 2 show the configuration of a raw material stirring device according to an embodiment of this invention in the standby and raw material stirring process states, respectively, and the raw material stirring device basically includes a stirring blade 1 and a stirring blade that drives the stirring blade. a stirring motor 2, a base 3 that guides and supports the stirring blade 1 and the stirring motor 2 in a vertically movable manner, a lifting drive mechanism 4 installed on the base 3 that operates the stirring motor 2 vertically, and a cup cover. 5 as the main parts.

The stirring blade 1 described above is connected to the lower end of the rotating shaft 21 of the stirring motor 2. On the other hand, an L-shaped motor support stand 22 is attached to the stirring motor 2, and its tip is fitted into a vertical slide shaft 31 provided on the base 3 to be guided and supported so as to be movable up and down. Said motor support stand 22
is coupled to a conveyance belt of a lifting drive mechanism 4, which will be described later. Note that the reference numeral 23 is a slide bearing of the motor support base 22.

On the other hand, the cup cover 5 is a cap body that covers the opening surface of the cup containing raw materials in the raw material stirring process described later, and is loosely fitted onto the rotating shaft 21 of the stirring motor 2, and is not shown on the upper surface of the cover. A dilution water injection nozzle 51 connected via a hose to a dilution water supply device such as a hot water tank that is not equipped is opened, and furthermore, a nozzle 51 for injecting dilution water is opened on the lower surface of the peripheral edge of the cover, and a nozzle 51 that fits into the upper surface of the cup when it lands on the cup is opened. A guide member 52 is formed in a protrusive manner for positioning the stirrer. Further, an inverted L-shaped cover support stand 53 is attached to the cup cover 5.
3 is fitted onto the slide shaft 31 described above and supported on the motor support base 22. Furthermore, 54
is a slide bearing of the cover support stand 53.

In addition, the elevating drive mechanism 4 includes upper and lower pulleys 41, 4.
2, a conveyor belt 43 such as a belt or wire laid parallel to the slide shaft 31, a drive motor 44 connected to the pulley 41, and a position detection device that detects the vertical position of the motor support base 22. switch 4
It is composed of 5, 46, etc. Note that it is also possible to configure a screw feeding mechanism using a ball screw or the like instead of the conveyance belt.

On the other hand, a cup indicated by reference numeral 6 is received and held by a cup conveyance mechanism indicated by reference numeral 8, with raw material 7 such as powder contained therein, and transported within the machine.

Next, the raw material stirring operation with the above configuration will be explained. First, in the sales standby state, the raw material stirring device is the
It is waiting in the state shown in the figure. That is, in this standby state, the lifting drive mechanism 4 is stopped at the raised position,
The stirring motor 2 and the cup cover 5 are on standby above via the motor support stand 22 and the cover support stand 53.

Here, a series of sales operations is started by a sales command, and when the cup 6 containing the raw material 7 on the cup transport mechanism 8 reaches a predetermined raw material stirring position, a command from an operation control section (not shown) is issued. First, the elevating drive mechanism 4 moves downward to move the motor support base 22 downward. As a result, the stirring blade 1 starts to descend together with the stirring motor 2, and enters the cup 6 which is stopped directly below it from above. The stop position of the lowering is determined by a detection signal from a position detection switch 46 of the elevating drive mechanism 4. On the other hand, when the stirring motor 2 descends, the cup cover 5 moves to the cover support stand 53 following this movement.
Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the cup cover 5 lands on top of the cup 6, it separates from the motor support base 22 and stops, covering the top surface of the cup 6. This allows the cup cover 5 to properly land on the upper surface of the cup regardless of the height and size of the cup 6. Further, upon this landing, the guide member 52 formed on the cover is fitted into the upper opening of the cup 6 in advance, and the cup 6 is connected to the stirring blade 1.
Correct the position so that it aligns with the center of the image. Note that the guide member 52 may be fitted onto the outer circumferential side of the cup 6. This cup positioning operation can prevent the cup 6 and the stirring blade 1 from coming into contact with each other.

In this state, next, the nozzle 51 of the cover 5
A fixed amount of water for dilution such as hot water or water is injected into the cup 6 through the cup 6, and then the stirring motor 2 is started to rotate the stirring blade 1, stirring and mixing the raw material and the water for dilution in the cup 6 to create a beverage. Mix. When a predetermined stirring time has elapsed, the stirring motor 2 stops,
Subsequently, the lifting drive mechanism 4 moves upward, and the stirring blade 1 is moved together with the stirring motor 2 via the motor support base 22.
Pull it up from inside cup 6. Also, during this lifting process, the motor support stand 22 pulls up the cup cover 5 together with the cover support stand 51. When the motor support base 22 rises to the standby position, the position detection switch 46 is activated and the elevating drive mechanism 4 is stopped. Note that these series of raw material stirring operations are program-controlled by an operation control section. On the other hand, when the above-mentioned raw material stirring step is completed, the cup conveying mechanism 8 starts moving again, and the cup 6 containing the beverage is carried out to the product outlet.

In addition, in the above-mentioned raw material stirring process, in order to effectively stir the raw materials, the operation of the lifting drive mechanism 4 may be controlled so that the stirring blade 1 is reciprocated up and down within the cup 6 without pushing up the cup cover 5. can. Also, when lifting the stirring blade 1 from the cup 6 just before the end of stirring the raw materials, while rotating the stirring blade 1, a small amount of hot water is poured into the cup cover 5 through the nozzle 51.
By injecting the liquid into the inside, the inner wall surfaces of the stirring blade 1 and the cup cover 5 can be cleaned.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to this invention, there is provided a stirring blade connected to the tip of the rotating shaft of the stirring motor, a motor support stand for the stirring motor, a base provided with a vertical sliding shaft, and equipment installed on the base. a cup cover loosely fitted onto the rotating shaft of the stirring motor; and a cover support for the cup cover, the motor support being movable up and down. The motor is fitted on the slide shaft and guided and supported, and is fitted on the slide shaft and guided and supported so that the cover support base moves up and down following the vertical movement of the motor support base. Since the raw material stirring device is constructed so as to be supported on the support table, a drive mechanism for the cup cover is not required, and the construction is simple, and an inexpensive raw material stirring device of an in-cup stirring type can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are block diagrams of an embodiment of this invention showing the states of standby and raw material stirring steps, respectively. In each figure, 1... Stirring blade, 2... Stirring motor, 21...
Rotating shaft, 22...Motor support stand, 3...Base, 3
1...Slide axis, 4...Elevating drive mechanism, 5...
Cup cover, 51... Dilution water injection nozzle, 5
2...Guide member, 53...Cover support stand, 6...
...Cup, 7...Raw material, 8...Cup conveyance mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A raw material stirring device for a cup-type beverage vending machine that prepares a beverage by stirring the raw materials and dilution water in a cup containing raw materials such as liquid or powder, and the rotating shaft of the stirring motor. a stirring blade connected to the tip, a motor support stand for the stirring motor, a base having a vertical slide shaft, a lifting mechanism for driving the motor support installed on the base, and a motor support stand for the stirring motor. The cup cover is provided with a loose fit on a rotating shaft, and a cover support stand for the cup cover, and the motor support stand is fitted and guided on the slide shaft so as to be movable up and down, and A cup type, characterized in that the cover support is fitted and guided on the slide shaft so as to move up and down in accordance with the up and down movement of the motor support, and is supported on the motor support. Raw material stirring device for beverage vending machines.