JPH0467288A - Automatic vending machine for cup-type drink - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always supply high temperature hot water to a cup without being influenced by length of a stand by time by pouring first high temperature hot water by a small quantity, and thereafter, supplying hot water into the cup after waiting for an arrival of the cup. CONSTITUTION:A cup 1 is carried out to a cut stage 2 from a cut supply device, and subsequently, a powder raw material 4 is thrown into the cup form a powder raw material box in a powder raw material supply station, it moves to a hot water supply station, and by pouring hot water into the cup from a hot water supply system, a drink is stirred and mixed, also, after the hot water supply, the cup stage 2 is transferred to a position of a commodity take-out port. Under the regular vending condition, a pump 8 is started after the vending operation is started, hot water in a hot water tank 5 is allowed to circulate and flow to a hot water supply piping 6, and low temperature hot water being in a stat that it is stagnant and becomes cool in the inside of the hot water supply piping 6 in the course of vending holding is replaced with high temperature hot water in the hot water tank. Subsequently, when the cup 1 into which the powder raw material 4 is thrown in the pre-stage process reaches a position of the hot water supply station, a hot water supply valve 9 is opened therein and high temperature hot water of a necessary quantity is pressurized and poured into the cup 1, and by stirring the powder raw material 4 and hot water, a drink is mixed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a cup-type beverage vending machine that dispenses various powdered raw materials such as coffee and cocoa into a cup and then pours hot water into the cup to dispense a beverage. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

As this type of cup-type beverage vending machine, a cup supply bag is installed inside the machine! , powder raw material supply equipment hot water supply, water supply equipment,
A cup conveyance mechanism is installed between the ice maker and the product takeout port, and when the cup is conveyed from the cup feeding device to the cup stage of the conveyance mechanism in response to a sales command, the cup conveyance mechanism is installed between the ice maker and the product outlet. Pour the selected powder raw material into the cup, then pour hot water into the cup at a later stage to dissolve the powder raw material, and then add hot water and 1 ice cube to dilute the beverage to prepare a hot or cold beverage. However, a device in which the cup containing the beverage is finally delivered to the product outlet is already known in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-190783.

In addition, as a method for stirring and blending beverages, the same patent application describes an in-cup stirring method in which powdered raw materials are put into the cup and then hot water is injected under pressure into the cup from above to stir and dissolve the powdered raw materials. For example, JP-A-63-8599
8 is proposed.

The in-cup stirring method proposed in this proposal involves installing a hot water nozzle at a hot water supply station on the way to the cup conveyance path, waiting for the cup to be moved to the hot water station, and injecting hot water under pressure into the cup from the hot water tank through the hot water nozzle. The hot water supply nozzle is connected to a pipe led out from a hot water tank via a pump and a hot water supply valve.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, there are the following problems to be solved regarding such cup-type beverage vending machines, particularly regarding hot water supply into the cup.

In other words, if the waiting time between the previous sale and the next sale is short, there will be no problem, but if the waiting time is long, the hot water pipes, nozzles, etc. pulled out from the hot water tank during this period may reach a temperature equivalent to the ambient temperature. If hot water is supplied to the cup in this state, the hot water extracted from the hot water tank loses heat while flowing out from the nozzle through the hot water supply piping, causing the temperature of the hot water to drop. As a result, the powdered raw material remains undissolved in the cup, and the finished temperature of the hot beverage becomes low, making it impossible to provide a high-quality beverage to customers.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and provides a cup-type beverage vending machine that can always maintain an appropriate sales temperature and sell high-quality beverages even during sales when the sales waiting time is long. The purpose is to provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention sets a standard waiting time in advance for the sales waiting time from the previous sale to the next sale, and when the sales waiting time exceeds the standard waiting time. At the time of sale, a small amount of high-temperature hot water stored in the hot water tank is dispensed through the hot water nozzle before the cup reaches the hot water supply station, and then the hot water is supplied into the cup after waiting for the cup to arrive.

[Effect]

In the above, the standard sales waiting time is set taking into account the ambient temperature conditions (e.g. the five seasons in which the vending machine is installed),
Under average ambient temperature conditions, the standard waiting time is e.g.
Set it to about a minute. If the sales waiting time exceeds the standard waiting time, hot water is first delivered from the hot water tank to the hot water supply line leading to the hot water supply nozzle via piping before the cup reaches the hot water supply station during the next sale.

As a result, the hot water supply line, which is in a cold state, is preheated with the previously poured hot water, and the temperature of the hot water supply piping and nozzle increases.

In addition, after the pre-discharged hot water flows out from the hot water supply nozzle, it is collected as drain water and treated as wastewater.

Therefore, the hot water that is poured into the cup after it reaches the hot water supply station enters the cup from the hot water supply nozzle while maintaining its high temperature.As a result, there is no remaining melted powder raw material and no beverages are served. It is possible to sell high-quality hot beverages with a high finishing temperature.

Furthermore, if the sales waiting time is within the standard waiting time, the hot water supply line has not cooled down due to residual heat from the hot water supply operation during the previous sale.Therefore, at the next sale, hot water will not be dispensed in advance as described above, but instead will be sent to the hot water supply station run. Wait for the cup to arrive and then pour the amount of hot water required for beverage preparation into the cup.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a time chart showing the hot water supply operation of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram of the hot water supply system installed in the aircraft.

First, in FIG. 2, 1 is a cup, 2 is a cup stage of a cup transport mechanism, and 3 is a chain mechanism for transporting the cup stage 2 along a transport path. Here, the cup 1 is carried out from a cup supply device to the cup stage 2 at a cup supply station on the conveyance path, and at the subsequent powder raw material supply station, powder raw material 4 is put into the cup from a powder raw material box. After adding the powdered raw material 4, move to the hot water supply station indicated by the solid line in the figure, where hot water is poured from the hot water supply system into the cup as described later, and the beverage is stirred and prepared (
In the case of hot beverages), the cup stage 2 is moved to the product outlet position after hot water is supplied. In addition, when selling cold drinks, after injecting the amount of hot water necessary to dissolve the powdered raw material 4 into a cup 1 at the hot water supply station, additionally supply diluted cold water, ice, etc. at the station run at the subsequent stage. Cold beverages are mixed and then transported to the product outlet.

On the other hand, the hot water system installed at the hot water station includes a hot water tank 5 with a built-in heater, a hot water pipe 6 drawn out from the hot water tank 5, and a hot water nozzle 7 connected to the tip of the pipe 6 and placed above the cup 1. , a pump 8 connected in the middle of the piping 6. The hot water supply valve 9, the return pipe 11 piped from the piping path between the pump 8 and the hot water supply valve 9 to the hot water tank 5 via the branch joint 1O, and the hot water supply nozzle 7 are swung in the upper surface area of the cup 1. It is comprised of a nozzle drive unit 12 that disperses and injects hot water into the cup. Note that 13 is a controller that controls sales.

With this configuration, hot water heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater is stored in the hot water tank 5, and in the sales standby state, the pump 8 is stopped and the hot water supply valve 9 is closed. When the pump 8 is operated from this state, the hot water in the hot water tank 5 flows through the pipe 6.
Pump 8. The water is circulated through the return pipe 11 and returned to the hot water tank 5 again. Furthermore, when the hot water supply valve 9 is opened in this state, hot water pressurized by the pump 8 is spouted downward from the hot water supply nozzle 7.

Next, the hot water supply operation when selling beverages using the hot water supply system with the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. A sales command is given to the controller 13 in FIG. 2 at each time.

In addition, the time interval between sales commands expressed as Tl + rx in the figure represents the actual sales waiting time from the previous sale to the next sale, and To is a timer built into the controller. This standard waiting time T, which represents the sales waiting time of the set standard for caulking, is determined by taking into account ambient temperature conditions, etc.
It is set to about minutes.

Then, during normal sales (sales waiting time T +
<To), hot water is supplied to the cup in the hot water supply pattern as shown in figure b1 during the beverage sales operation.On the other hand, casual sales when the sales waiting time exceeds the standard waiting time T0 At time (sales waiting time T, >τ0),
During the beverage sales operation, the hot water supply operation is performed according to the hot water supply pattern as shown in the diagram Cj.

In other words, (5) under the normal sales conditions shown in Figure 2, after the start of the sales operation, the pump 8 shown in Figure 2 is started to circulate hot water in the hot water tank 5 to the hot water supply piping 6, and while the sales are waiting. Low-temperature hot water that remains in a cooled state inside a hot water supply pipe 6 is replaced with high-temperature hot water in a hot water tank. Next, when the cup 1 into which the powdered raw material 4 was charged in the previous step reaches the position of the hot water supply station, the hot water supply valve 9 is opened and the required amount of high temperature hot water is injected into the cup 1 under pressure, and the powdered raw material 4 and hot water are injected into the cup 1. Mix the beverage by stirring.

On the other hand, under the casual sales conditions shown in Figure C1, after the start of the sales operation as described above, the pump 8 is first started to circulate hot water in the hot water tank 5 to the hot water piping 6, and while the sales are waiting, the hot water piping The low-temperature hot water that has cooled down inside the cup 6 is replaced with high-temperature hot water in the hot water tank, and then, before the cup 1 reaches the hot water supply station, the hot water supply valve 9 is opened for a short period of time, and a small amount of high-temperature hot water is exchanged. The hot water is discharged before the hot water supply nozzle 7. As a result, the piping portion downstream of the hot water supply valve 9, including the hot water supply nozzle 7, whose temperature has dropped to ambient temperature during the long sales waiting time, is preheated by the first hot water.
When the cup 1 into which the powdered raw material 4 has been charged in the previous step reaches the hot water supply stage run position, the hot water supply valve 9 is closed again and the required amount of hot water is injected into the cup 1 under pressure, and the powdered raw material 4 is poured into the cup 1.
and hot water to prepare a drink. In this process of supplying hot water into the cup, the hot water piping system including the hot water supply nozzle 7 is preheated by discharging the hot water in advance, so the hot water is injected into the cup 1 in a high temperature state so that the powder raw materials are not dissolved. Can mix drinks.

In addition, although the illustrated example shows a method in which hot water is circulated between the hot water tank and the hot water supply piping before hot water is supplied to the cup,
Even in hot water piping systems that do not circulate hot water, the same effect can be achieved by discharging high-temperature hot water first.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, during casual sales when the sales waiting time exceeds a predetermined standard waiting time, hot water is stored in the hot water tank through the hot water nozzle before the cup reaches the hot water supply station. By first dispensing a small amount of high-temperature hot water, and then waiting for the cup to arrive, the hot water is poured into the cup, so hot water is always supplied to the cup and drinks can be made, regardless of the length of the waiting time. As a result, it is possible to sell a high-quality beverage that does not leave any dissolved powder raw materials and has a finished beverage at an appropriate temperature.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a time chart showing the hot water supply operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a hot water supply system diagram in Fig. 0, 1: cup, 2: movable cup stage, 4: powder raw material, 5: hot water tank, 6: hot water piping, 7: hot water nozzle, 8
: Pump, 9: Hot water valve, 13: Controller. 〈Tokobe〉 (b') 〈Casuaano L version sold〉 (C) 7th g

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) The machine is equipped with a cup conveyance means, and after the powder raw material is put into the cup at the powder raw material supply station on the way of the cup conveyance path, hot water is poured into the cup at the subsequent hot water supply station to stir and mix the beverage. In a cup-type beverage vending machine in which the hot water supply station is equipped with a hot water supply nozzle connected to a hot water tank via piping, a standard waiting time is set in advance for the sales waiting time from the previous sale to the next sale. However, when the sales waiting time exceeds the standard waiting time, a small amount of high-temperature hot water stored in the hot water tank is dispensed through the hot water nozzle before the cup reaches the hot water supply station, and then a small amount of hot water is poured out, waiting for the cup to arrive. A cup-type beverage vending machine that dispenses hot water into a cup.