JPH0578078B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is provided with an ice maker and a storage container for storing a predetermined amount of ice made by the ice maker. The present invention relates to a method and device for storing ice in a vending machine that dispenses ice into a cup and sells it.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in this type of vending device, ice is made by operating an ice maker, and when the storage container is full of ice, the ice maker stops operating and the beverage can be sold. Become. At this time, it is determined how many times the ice in the storage container corresponds to the number of sales, and the number of sales is set in a counter. Then, each time a sale is made, the counter decrements the count, while
The ice maker resumes operation when the amount of ice in the storage container decreases. However, if sales continue, the ice making machine cannot keep up with the sales, and eventually the counter reaches zero and sales stop due to no ice. It is known that in this state, once the amount of ice required for one sale is made by an ice maker, the ice can be sold again. (Tokuko Showa 57
(Refer to Publication No. 19480) (Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in such a product, once the ice runs out, the amount of ice required for one sale is sold each time the ice is made. Therefore, as long as sales were carried out relatively frequently, ice would not accumulate in the storage container, resulting in the inconvenience of having to wait a certain period of time for each sale.

This invention was made to solve this problem.Once the ice runs out, a waiting period is set and once a certain amount of ice has been made, it can be sold again, and the amount of ice to be sold at that time is reduced. By setting the amount of ice smaller than the amount of ice that is actually made, it is possible to eventually fill up the ice in the storage container even if sales occur relatively frequently, making it possible to make continuous sales of beverages more frequent. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for storing ice in a vending machine and a device therefor.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides for stopping the selling operation between the storage capacity of the storage container for storing ice produced by the ice-making operation from zero to full, and When the container becomes full, the ice making operation is stopped and the selling operation is enabled. When the ice storage capacity of the storage container decreases due to this selling operation, the ice making operation is started again to fill the ice storage capacity of the storage container. In an ice storage method for a vending machine that operates to make ice as much as possible, the first method is to allow continuous sales in which the remaining capacity of ice in this storage container does not reach zero when the storage container is full, and to perform sales operations up to the maximum allowable amount. When the selling operation is performed by the maximum allowable amount set by the ice release setting means and the first ice release setting means, the selling operation is temporarily stopped, and during this sales suspension period, the storage container is not filled with ice. A sales ice-making control means for making ice in a quantity, and when the ice made by this sales ice-making control means is stored in a storage container, it is sold up to an allowable amount for continuous sales that is equal to or less than the amount of ice made by this sales ice-making control means. When the sales operation reaches the sales allowance set by the second ice release setting means, the sales operation is temporarily stopped and the sales ice making control means is activated again. This is an ice storage method for a vending machine that attempts to achieve the above object by having an ice making and storage control means for performing an ice making operation with an amount of ice less than the full capacity of a storage container.

The present invention also provides for stopping the sales operation of the sales mechanism between the time when the storage capacity of the storage container for storing ice made by the ice making operation of the ice maker becomes full from zero,
When the storage container becomes full, the ice making operation of the ice maker is stopped and the sales mechanism is enabled to start selling, and when the ice storage capacity of the storage container decreases due to this selling operation, the ice maker is started again to make ice. In an ice storage device of a vending machine that operates to make ice so that the ice storage capacity in the storage container becomes full, the ice storage device includes a fullness detector that detects a full state of ice in the storage container, and a fullness detection signal from the fullness detector. Then, a specified number of sales is set according to the amount of ice in the storage container, and a sales permission signal is output to the sales organization.The number of sales is subtracted by 1 for each sale, and when it becomes zero, sales to the sales organization are stopped. a first subtraction counter that outputs a signal; and a first subtraction counter that stops the ice making operation of the ice maker upon receiving a full detection signal from the full detector, and stops the ice making operation of the ice maker upon receiving a non-full detection signal from the full detector. The ice maker control means starts the time counting operation upon receiving a sales stop signal from the first subtraction counter, and the ice maker makes ice corresponding to a predetermined number of sales, which is less than the specified number of sales. Set a timer that times up when the time required for the sale has elapsed, and a set number of sales that is smaller than the number of sales counted by the timer in response to the time-up signal from this timer, and output a sales permission signal to the sales organization. In order to achieve the above object, the second subtraction counter decrements the set number of times one by one, and when it reaches zero, outputs a sales stop signal to the sales organization and restarts the timer's time counting operation. This is an ice storage device for vending machines.

(Function) By providing such a means, when the storage container is full, continuous sales are allowed so that the remaining capacity of ice in this storage container does not become zero, and when the sales operation is performed up to the maximum allowable amount, This sales operation is temporarily stopped, and during this sales suspension period, the amount of ice that is less than the full capacity of the storage container is made. When the ice produced by this ice production is stored in the storage container, the sales operation is performed until the amount of ice that is allowed for continuous sales is equal to or less than the produced ice quantity. When the sales operation reaches the sales allowance, the sales operation is temporarily stopped and the ice making operation is performed again to make the amount of ice less than the full capacity of the storage container. As a result, the ice making operation is performed to fill up the ice storage capacity.

Furthermore, by providing the above means, when the fullness detector outputs a full detection signal indicating that the storage container is full of ice, the ice maker control means operates the ice maker to make ice, and this state When a sale is made by the sales organization, the first subtraction counter subtracts the prescribed number of sales by 1 for each sale, and when it reaches zero, outputs a sales stop signal to the sales organization. This sales stop signal causes the timer to count until the time required to make ice corresponding to a predetermined number of sales, which is less than the specified number of sales, has elapsed, and when the time has elapsed, the second subtraction counter is activated by the timer. A set number of times smaller than the number of sales is set to output a sales permission signal to a sales organization, and the set number of times is subtracted by one for each sale, and when it becomes zero, a sales stop signal is outputted. As a result, ice is made for a predetermined number of sales, which is less than the specified number of sales, and when sales are made less than the number of sales, ice is made again for the predetermined number of sales, which is less than the specified number of sales. , this operation is repeated.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a first switch that turns on when it detects that the storage container is full, which will be described later, and turns off when it detects that the ice is less than full. A second switch turns off when it detects that the ice is full, and turns on when it detects that the ice is less than full, and these switches 1 and 2 constitute a full detector. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a member 5 is provided in the storage container 3 that moves up and down depending on the amount of ice 4 stored. The actuator 7 of the micro switch 6 incorporating two switches 1 and 2 is energized, thereby operating the first and second switches 1 and 2. In addition, 8 is an electromagnetic valve that is opened for a certain period of time during the selling operation to release a certain amount of ice in the storage container 3, and 9 is an ice crushing section that constitutes a part of the ice maker.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a self-holding switch that turns on when it detects that the storage container 3 is full of ice 4 and thereafter maintains the on state. Said first switch 1
By turning on the counter, a high-level full detection signal is supplied to the first subtraction counter 11 as a reset signal. By being reset, the first subtraction counter 11 is reset to a predetermined number of sales, for example, 20 times, based on the amount of ice when the storage container 3 is full, for example, the amount corresponding to 22 sales times. I try to memorize "20". A relay 12 is connected between the + power terminal and ground via the second switch 2. This relay 12 constitutes ice maker control means, and its operation turns on normally open first and second contact switches 13 and 14.

15 is an AC power source, and a compressor 16, which constitutes a part of the ice making machine, is connected to this power source 15 via the first contact switch 13 of the relay 12. Reference numeral 17 denotes a third switch that is turned on every time the sales mechanism 18 performs a sales operation, and when the third switch 17 is turned on, the first subtraction counter 1
A high level subtraction signal is supplied to the first and second subtraction counters 19. Each of the subtraction counters 11 and 19 subtracts the count each time the subtraction signal is input, and outputs a high-level signal as a sales permission signal until the count value reaches zero, and the count value reaches zero. When this happens, the level of the output signal is inverted to low level as a sales stop signal. The output signal of the first subtraction counter 11 is passed through a two-input type OR gate 2.
The signal is supplied to one input terminal of the switch 0 and is also supplied to the first electronic switch 22 via the inverter 21. This electronic switch 22 is turned on when a high level signal is input.

23 is a timer, and this timer 23 is connected in series to the self-holding switch 10, the second contact switch 14 of the relay 12, and the first electronic switch 22, and is further connected to one input of a two-input type OR gate 24. A high level signal is supplied through the terminal, and the time counting operation is started at the rising edge of the signal. For example, the timer 23 times up after counting the amount of time required to make the amount of ice that can be sold six times by an ice maker, and supplies the time-up output to the second subtraction counter 19 as a reset signal. There is. Said second subtraction counter 1
9 stores the preset number of sales "4" by being reset, and supplies the output signal to the other input terminal of the OR gate 20, and also outputs the output signal to the second electronic switch 26 via the inverter 25. is supplied to. The timer 23 also includes the self-holding switch 10 and the relay 12.
The second contact switch 14 and the second electronic switch 26 are connected in series, and the OR gate 2
A high level signal is supplied through the other input terminal of 4, and the time counting operation is started even at the rising edge of that signal.

An on-sale lamp 27 is connected between the output terminal of the OR gate 20 and the ground, and an ice break lamp 29 is connected via an inverter 28. Further, the output of the OR gate 20 is supplied to the sales mechanism 18. The vending mechanism 18 receives a coin insertion confirmation signal from the coin mechanism 30 and a switch operation signal from the selection switch 31, and receives a high level signal from the OR gate 20. In this state, one selling operation is performed by inputting a coin insertion confirmation signal and a switch operation signal. This vending operation is carried out by supplying a certain amount of ice from the storage container 3 and a certain amount of beverage from the beverage container into a cup 33 set in the vending spout 32 as shown in FIG. There is.
The sales mechanism 18 stops the sales operation when a low level signal is input from the OR gate 20.

In the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration, when the power is turned on, first the compressor 1 is turned on.
6 operates and ice is made by the ice maker. The produced ice is stored in the storage container 3. In this way, the amount of ice 4 in the storage container 3 increases with time, as shown in part A of the graph in FIG. Then, when the ice 4 in the storage container 3 increases to the full level _L1 , the first switch 1 and the self-holding switch 10 are turned on, and the second switch 2 is turned off. As a result, the first subtraction counter 11 is reset and "20" is set in the counter 11, and at the same time, the operation of the relay 12 is stopped and its first and second contact switches 13 and 14 are turned off. , the operation of the compressor 16 is stopped. 1st
When the subtraction counter 11 stores "20", its output becomes high level, the out-of-ice lamp 29 goes out, and the on-sale lamp 27 turns on. Further, a high level signal is also supplied to the vending mechanism 18, and the beverage can be sold.

In this state, when a predetermined amount of coins is inserted into the coin mechanism 30 and the selection switch 31 is selectively operated, a coin insertion confirmation signal and a switch operation signal are supplied to the vending mechanism 18, and the beverage sales operation is performed. . When this beverage sale takes place,
The third switch 17 turns on once and returns to the off state again. By turning on the third switch 17, the first subtraction counter 11 decrements the count by one, and the count value becomes "19". Thereafter, each time a beverage sales operation is performed in this manner, the first subtraction counter 11 reduces the count by 1.
Count by subtraction. On the other hand, the amount of ice in the storage container also gradually decreases as shown in the lower part of the graph in FIG. When the amount of ice in the storage container 3 is reduced to level _L2 due to this reduction, the first switch 1 is turned off and the second switch 2 is turned on. This causes the relay 12 to operate, the compressor 16 to start operating again, and the ice making machine to start making ice. When drinks are sold at relatively long time intervals, the amount of ice made by the ice maker is greater than the amount of ice used for sales, and eventually the storage container becomes full. However,
The first subtraction counter 11 is reset to store "20" again, and the operation of the compressor 16 is stopped. However, if beverage sales are carried out continuously at relatively short time intervals, the amount of ice used for sales will be greater than the amount of ice made by the ice maker, and the amount of ice in the storage container 3 will increase. The amount of ice gradually decreases. Along with this, the first subtraction counter 11
The count value of will also become smaller. Eventually, the amount of ice in storage container 3 is almost gone, and the level reaches L ₃ .
When the count value of the first subtraction counter 11 decreases to zero, the count value of the first subtraction counter 11 becomes zero. Thus, the state of the output of the first subtraction counter 11 is reversed from high level to low level. As a result, the on-sale lamp 27 is turned off, and the out-of-ice lamp 29 is turned on. Also,
The sales operation of the sales mechanism 18 is stopped. At the same time, the electronic switch 22 is turned on, and the timer 23 starts counting time, which becomes a waiting time for the ice to run out. When this waiting time elapses and the timer 23 times up, the amount of ice that can be sold six times in the storage container 3 as shown in part C of the graph in FIG. The subtraction counter 19 stores "4", which is the number of sales for four times, which is less than that. As a result, the output of the second subtraction counter 19 becomes high level, and the on-sale lamp 27 lights up.
The out-of-ice lamp 29 goes out, and the sales mechanism 18 becomes ready to perform the sales operation. In this way, you will be able to purchase drinks again. The second subtraction counter 19 is decremented by 1 every time the sales mechanism 18 performs a sales operation and the third switch 17 is turned on.
The count will be subtracted one by one. As a result, the amount of ice in the storage container 3 also gradually decreases as shown by the second part of the graph in FIG. When the sales operation is performed four times, the count value of the second subtraction counter 19 becomes zero. As a result, sales will be suspended again. Further, when the second subtraction counter 19 becomes zero, the second electronic switch 26 is turned on via the inverter 25, and the timer 23 starts the time counting operation again. In this way, there is a waiting period again, and the ice maker makes the amount of ice that can be sold six times. After this waiting time has elapsed, it becomes possible to sell four times again. In this way, the amount of ice that is twice more than the amount of ice that can be sold is actually made for each waiting period, so by repeating this waiting period, the amount of ice 4 in the storage container 3 can be reduced. As shown in the graph of FIG. 3, it gradually increases and eventually reaches the full level _L1 . When the amount of ice 4 in the storage container 3 is full, the first switch 1 is turned on and the second switch 2 is turned on.
is turned off, "20" is stored in the first subtraction counter 11, and the operation of the compressor 16 is stopped. In this way, you will be able to sell up to 20 times in a row again. In other words, a large amount of beverages can be sold continuously.

In this way, first, the amount of ice 4 in the storage container 3 is filled up to start selling beverages, and then when the amount of ice in the container 3 decreases to level _L3 , the timer 23 is activated to sell six servings of ice. A waiting time is created for ice making, and after this waiting time passes, four sales are possible, and when the four sales are completed, the timer 23 is activated again.
The system operates to make enough ice to sell six times, and by repeating this operation, the amount of ice in the storage container 3 is raised again to the full level _L1 , which makes it possible to sell large quantities of beverages. Small quantity sales can be repeated several times, and large quantities of beverages can be sold in succession relatively frequently.

In the above embodiment, when the first subtraction counter 11 reaches zero and when the second subtraction counter 19 reaches zero, the timer 23 is operated to time count at the rising edge of the input signal, but this is not necessarily the case. For example, the timer is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use a timer that automatically starts the time counting operation again when the time is up when the input signal level is high. Even if the second subtraction counter does not reach zero, the timer's time-up operation causes the second subtraction counter to memorize ``4'', so that if the sales interval is long when selling small quantities, The maximum amount of small-volume sales can be sold, and even if the quantity is small, sales can be continued within that range, and sales will not be stopped unless the counter reaches zero, so customers can avoid waiting for sales as much as possible. I can do it. Note that in this case, the inverter 25,
The circuit constituted by the second electronic switch 26 becomes unnecessary.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, once the ice has run out, the ice making operation is performed to ensure a certain amount of ice, and then the selling operation is performed again, and the sales at this time are carried out again. Since the amount of ice is set lower than the amount of ice that is actually made, the ice in the storage container can eventually be filled even if sales operations are performed relatively frequently. It is possible to sell a number of products without having to wait until the ice in the storage container is full, and without having to wait for a long time even after the ice has run out after continuous sales. To provide a method and device for storing ice in a vending machine, which can increase the usage rate as a vending machine by selling one cup at a time, and which does not cause customers to wait and become irritated by running out of stock every time they sell one cup. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of this invention, Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of main parts in the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of the ice making situation in the same embodiment. 1...first switch, 2...second switch, 3...storage container, 4...ice, 11...first subtraction counter, 12...relay, 16...compressor, 17...th 3 switch, 18... Sales mechanism, 19... Second subtraction counter, 22, 26
...Electronic switch, 23...timer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. The selling operation is stopped between the time when the storage capacity of a storage container for storing ice made by the ice making operation is zero and becomes full, and when the storage container is full, the ice making operation is stopped. and enables the vending operation, and when the ice storage capacity of the storage container decreases due to the vending operation, the ice making operation is performed again to make the ice storage capacity of the storage container full. In the ice storage method of the apparatus, a first ice release setting means allows continuous sales in which the remaining amount of ice in the storage container does not become zero when the storage container is full, and performs the sales operation until the maximum allowable amount. , When the sales operation is performed by the maximum allowable amount set by the first ice release setting means, the sales operation is temporarily stopped, and during this sales suspension period, the amount of ice that is less than the full capacity of the storage container is made. a sales ice-making control means for controlling the sales ice-making control means; and when the ice made by the sales ice-making control means is stored in the storage container, the sales operation is performed until the amount of ice that is allowed for continuous sales is equal to or less than the amount of ice made by the sales ice-making control means; a second ice release setting means for causing the second ice release setting means to perform the above-mentioned ice making control means; and when the sales operation is performed up to the sales allowance set by the second ice release setting means, the sales ice making control means temporarily stops the sales operation and restarts the sales ice making control means; An ice storage method for a vending machine, comprising: ice making storage control means for performing an ice making operation of an ice amount that is less than or equal to the full capacity of the storage container. 2. If the sales operation of the sales mechanism is stopped between the time when the storage capacity of the storage container for storing ice produced by the ice making operation of the ice maker reaches from zero to full, and when the storage container becomes full, the ice maker's sales operation is stopped. The ice making operation is stopped and the selling operation of the sales mechanism is enabled. When the ice storage capacity of the storage container decreases due to this selling operation, the ice making machine is operated again to increase the ice storage capacity of the storage container. In an ice storage device of a vending machine that operates to make ice in the direction of fullness, the ice storage device includes a fullness detector that detects a full state of ice in the storage container, and a fullness detection signal from the fullness detector to detect the fullness of ice in the storage container. A predetermined number of sales is set according to the amount of ice in the container, and a sales permission signal is output to the sales organization, and the number of sales is subtracted by 1 for each sale, and when it becomes zero, a sales stop signal is output to the sales organization. a first subtraction counter that stops the ice making operation of the ice maker upon receiving a full detection signal from the full detector, and stops the ice making operation of the ice maker upon receiving a non-full detection signal from the full detector; an ice maker control means that starts a time counting operation in response to a sales stop signal from the first subtraction counter, and causes ice corresponding to a predetermined number of sales, which is less than the specified number of sales, to be delivered to the ice maker. A timer that times up when the time required to make ice has elapsed, and a set number of sales that is smaller than the number of sales counted by the timer upon receiving a time-up signal from this timer are set, and a sales permission signal is sent to the sales organization. a second subtraction counter that outputs a sales stop signal to the sales mechanism and restarts the time counting operation of the timer when the set count is subtracted by one for each sale and reaches zero; An ice storage device for a vending machine characterized by comprising: