JPH0715717B2 - Cup type vending machine - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vending machine in which cooked food is sold in cups.

2. Description of the Related Art A cup-type vending machine is constructed as shown in FIG. In the selling operation, the cup dispenser 2 first dispenses the cup 3 to the cup station 1 provided at the position facing the product outlet, and then the raw material tanks 4A to 4C feed the mixing balls 5 with the raw material A1 to A3. The same amount of hot water B from the hot water tank 6 of the water heater to the same mixing ball 5
The raw materials A1 to A3 are melted with warm water B in the mixing ball 5, and the melted liquid C is poured into the cup station 1.
One sale operation is completed by pouring into the cup 3 and finishing pouring. More specifically, in coffee vending machines, A1 is coffee powder, A2 is cream powder, A3.
Is sugar.

In such a configuration, the mixing ball 5 and the mixing ball 5 to the cup 3 are used to dissolve the raw material with warm water.
The pipe 7 to the is an essential constituent element and is not preferable in terms of hygiene. That is, when used for a long period of time, dirt adheres to the inside of the mixing ball 5 and the inside of the pipe 7, and the liquid C flowing from the mixing ball 5 to the cup 3 is contaminated with this dirt.

For this reason, some of them are configured as shown in FIG. In the cooking process, first, the raw material 8 is put into the cup 3 as shown in FIG. 9 (a), and then, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), the warm water C is put into the cup 3 in which the raw material 8 has been put. pour it up. At this time, the warm water is flowing down from the warm water tank 6. Furthermore, the ninth
As shown in FIG. 3C, the screw 10 is inserted into the mixed liquid 9 in the cup 3 and stirred to sufficiently dissolve the raw material 8. Then, the inserted screw 10 is pulled out, and FIG. 9 (d) is shown.
As shown in, the raw material 8 is a product in which the hot water C is dissolved.
In this case, since the screw 10 is stirred in the cup 3, the mixing ball 5 and the pipe 7 are not necessary.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The vending machine for performing cooking shown in FIG. 9 does not require the mixing balls 5 and the pipes 7, and is therefore more hygienic than the case of the vending machine shown in FIG. Since the screw 10 is inserted into the mixed liquid 9 of the warm water C and the raw material 8 poured into the cup 3 and the same screw 10 is repeatedly used, there remains an unsanitary factor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cup-type vending machine which can be sufficiently stirred without inserting an instrument into a mixed liquid of hot water and raw materials.

Means for Solving the Problems A cup-type vending machine according to the present invention holds a cup with a cup handling device and pours a liquid at a first position into which a raw material discharged from a raw material tank is charged and a liquid that melts the raw material. Control for moving to a second position to be released and cooking in a predetermined order, and for operating the cup handling device so as to swing the gripped cup during liquid injection at the second position It is characterized by having a section.

Action According to this configuration, when the liquid is injected into the cup, the control section operates the cup handling device so as to swing the gripped cup. Therefore, even if the liquid is discharged in a certain direction, the cup that receives the liquid oscillates to repeatedly create a state in which it is poured on the bottom of the cup and a state in which it is poured along the side wall of the cup. be able to.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. It should be noted that components having the same functions as those in FIGS. 8 and 9 showing the conventional example will be described with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 shows a cup-type vending machine according to the present invention. This is provided with an extraction / filtering device 11 for cooking, in which the raw material is melted with hot water and discharged, and a mixed liquid of the raw material and hot water is filtered with a filter to discharge the extracted liquid. .

The extraction and filtration device 11 is constructed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Here, a case of cooking coffee powder with warm water will be described as an example. Below the extraction chamber body 12 is a filtrate receiver 13
Is attached so as to be able to move up and down, and a band-shaped filter 15 drawn from a winding body 14 is hung between the extraction chamber body 12 and the filtrate receiver 13.

In the filtration step, the filtrate receiver 13 is raised to press the strip filter 15 against the lower surface opening 16 of the extraction chamber body 12, and then the partition wall 17
Coffee powder and hot water C are introduced into the upper chamber 18 and the lower chamber 19 of the extraction chamber body 12 separated by. Where the upper chamber
A communication hole 20 that connects 18 and the lower chamber 19 is closed by a valve body 22 that is urged downward by a compression spring 21, and a mixture 23 of coffee powder and warm water C is held in the upper chamber 18. Has been done. In this state, the valve body 22 is opened to allow the mixed liquid 23 to flow down into the lower chamber 19, and in the future, the pressurized air at the atmospheric temperature is supplied from the air supply port 24 while the pressurized air is prevented from leaking from the valve body 22. And pressurize. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the mixed liquid 23 in the lower chamber 19 is forcibly filtered by the pressure difference between the extraction chamber side of the filter 15 and the filtrate receiving side, and the hot water component in which the coffee extract in the mixed liquid 23 dissolves in the filter 15. Pass through to the downflow passage 25 and cup 3
Be paid to.

In FIG. 1, hot water C flows down from the hot water tank 6 to the extraction / filtration device 11 via the first electromagnetic valve 26, and pressurized air is sent from the air pump 28 via the second electromagnetic valve 27.

When performing simple cooking in which the raw material 8 is melted with the warm water C without using the extraction and filtration device 11, the cup 3 which has been held by the cup handling device described below and which has already been charged with the raw material 8 is added as follows. Then, warm water C is injected. A valve body 31 is provided in the upper opening 30 of the pressure tank 29, and the lower opening 32 is connected to a hot water supply pipe 34 extended to the cup 3 via a check valve 33. The valve body 31 of the upper opening 30 is opened and the amount of hot water C used for one-time cooking flows down into the pressurization tank 29 from the hot water tank 6 via the third electromagnetic valve 35. The valve body 31 is held in the closed state. And
Pressurized air is sent to the opening 36 of the pressurizing tank 29 from the air pump 28 via the fourth electromagnetic valve 37. An air filter (not shown) is provided immediately before the opening 36. Here, since the check valve 33 is attached between the lower opening 32 of the pressurizing tank 29 and the hot water supply pipe 34, when pressurized air is sent from the opening 36, the internal pressure of the pressurizing tank 29 rises. The hot water C is not injected from the hot water supply pipe 34 into the cup 3 until the internal pressure rises to the specified value determined by the check valve 33. When the internal pressure of the pressurizing tank 29 exceeds the specified value, the pressurized hot water C is vigorously injected from the hot water supply pipe 34 into the cup 3, and the raw material 8 in the cup 3 and the injected hot water C are injected.
The mixed liquid 9 is formed by and, and the raw material 8 is dissolved in the warm water C by being stirred by the force of the warm water C into which the mixed liquid 9 is injected.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a configuration for charging the raw material 8 and the like into the cup C in the case of simple cooking using the pressure tank 29. Inside the exterior case 38 of the vending machine, in addition to the cup stocker table 40 in which the cup dispensers 39A, 39B and 39C are arranged, the raw material tanks 4A to 4C, the hot water tank 6 and the like, an X as a cup handling device is provided. Table 41A and Y table 41B and robot hand 41C that holds the cup
Is provided.

Here, a small cup of 7 ounces is stacked in the cup dispenser 39A, and medium cups and large cups of 9 ounces and 12 ounces are stacked in the cup dispensers 39B and 39C.

When the control unit 43 detects the sales execution instruction, the cup dispenser 39 is determined based on the cooking data given at that time.
Determine which cup of A to 39C to use X,
A drive pulse is applied to the pulse motors M1 and M2 that drive the Y tables 41A and 41B to move the robot hand 41C at the standby position to the target position.

Assuming that the cup used here is a 7-ounce cup, the robot hand 41C moves to the position below the cup dispenser 39A as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the robot hand 41C moves the dispensed cup 3 into position. receive. next,
A drive pulse required to move the material to the position for receiving the material A1 discharged from the material tank 4A is applied to the pulse motors M1 and M2. When the application of this drive pulse is completed, the payout motor of the raw material tank 4A is operated for a specified time, and the robot hand
The raw material A1 is put into the cup 3 held at 41C. When the dispensing operation of the raw material A1 is completed, if the raw materials A2 and A3 such as cream and sugar are required for cooking based on the cooking data, the position where the raw material tank 4B receives the raw material to be dispensed, the raw material tank
The robot hand 41C is moved to a position for receiving the 4C dispensed raw material, and when the robot hand 41C arrives at a position below the raw material tank 4B, the delivery motor of the raw material tank 4B is operated to drive the raw material tank.
When it arrives at a position below 4C, the delivery motor of the raw material tank 4C is operated. Here, the case of cooking using the respective raw materials A1 to A3 of the raw material tanks 4A to 4C is described as an example, but the raw material tank 4A
It may pass through one or two raw material feeding positions of ~ 4C.

When all the ingredients necessary for cooking have been added, the cup 3 is conveyed from the position of the robot hand 41C at that time to the cup station 1, and the cup 3 with the ingredients added is passed to the cup station 1. The hot water C is injected by the hot water supply pipe 34 before the robot hand 41C delivers the cup 3 to the cup station 1, and the position of the cup station 1 or a predetermined position in front of the cup station 1 [for example, in FIG. The position indicated by the virtual line 42] is detected by the control unit 43, the control unit 43 determines that the pulse motor
By controlling M1 and M2, as shown in Fig. 6, the robot hand 4
Swing the cup 3 held at 1C in the directions of arrows D and E.
When the cup 3 is rocked in this manner when the warm water C is injected,
Even if the hot water supply pipe 34 faces a certain direction, the first flow I that rises from the cup bottom portion 3A along the cup side wall 3B to stir the mixed liquid 9 and the mixed liquid while rotating along the cup side wall 3B. A second stream II is obtained which stirs 9 and the raw material 8 is
The second streams I and II melt with sufficient stirring.

The raw material 8 can be sufficiently dissolved only by the first flow I, but in this case, the foaming of the mixed liquid 9 is noticeable.
On the other hand, in the case of only the second flow II, it is good in that there is no foaming as described above, but the raw material 8 is provided in the center of the cup bottom portion 3A.
Does not melt and remains easily. In this embodiment, although the hot water supply pipe 34 is fixed in a fixed direction, the first and second flows
It was possible to obtain I and II, and there was no foaming, and the raw material 8 at the center of the bottom was completely stirred, and a good cooking state was obtained.

As described above, since it is possible to stir by the pumping energy of the injection of the warm water C without inserting the stirring device such as the screw 10 into the mixed liquid 9 of the cup 3, it is hygienic.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, when the liquid that melts the raw material is injected, the control unit controls the operation of the cup handling device so as to rock the cup, so that it is sufficient even when the liquid is poured in a certain direction. The raw material can be stirred and melted, and a good cooking state can be obtained. Moreover, it is very hygienic because it can be sufficiently stirred without inserting a stirring device into the mixed liquid in the cup.

Further, as seen in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-199884, in the technique of moving the cup held by the chucking arm to a table provided with a stirring mechanism and swinging the cup,
A "table provided with a stirring mechanism" must be installed in a narrow space inside the vending machine, but in the present invention, the cup handling device swings the cup while holding the cup. Since the handling device is operated, such a "table provided with a stirring mechanism" is not required at all, and the narrow space inside the vending machine can be effectively used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an essential part of an embodiment of a cup-type vending machine according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are explanatory views of a cooking process of an extraction and filtration device in the device, FIGS. 4 and 5 Is an explanatory view of an apparatus for charging raw materials into a cup, FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a rocking state of the cup during liquid injection, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a liquid injection state in the same apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a front view of the cup-type vending machine, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a cooking process of a conventional example. 3 ... Cup, 6 ... Warm water tank, 8 ... Raw material, 28 ...
Air pump, 29 …… Pressurized tank, 34 …… Hot water supply pipe, 41A
...... X table, 41B ...... Y table, 41C ...... Robot hand, 43 ...... Control section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cup handling device holds a cup, and a predetermined position is provided between a first position at which a raw material discharged from a raw material tank is charged and a second position at which a liquid that melts the raw material is poured. A cup-type vending machine which is configured to move and cook and which is provided with a control unit which operates the cup handling device so as to swing the gripped cup at the time of liquid injection at the second position.