JPH0792866B2 - 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, first, the cup dispenser 2 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 one 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 charged into the cup 3 as shown in FIG. 8 (a), and then, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), warm water C is added to the cup 3 of the charging agent of the raw material 8. pour it up. At this time, the warm water is flowing down from the warm water tank 6. Furthermore, the eighth
As shown in FIG. 3C, the screw 10 is inserted into the mixed solution 9 in the cup 3 and stirred to sufficiently dissolve the raw material 8. Then, the inserted screw 10 is pulled out, and FIG. 8 (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 the cooking shown in FIG. 8 does not require the mixing ball 5 and the pipe 7, and thus is 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 a factor of becoming unsanitary.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cup-type vending machine capable of sufficiently stirring a mixture of hot water and a raw material without inserting a stirring tool.

Means for Solving the Problems The cup-type vending machine of the present invention has a first opening for communicating the pressurizing chamber with the outside and a second opening for sending pressurized air to the pressurizing chamber. A pressurizing tank, a valve for opening and closing the first opening, a drive device for the valve, a sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the valve, and the first unit when the hot water supply instruction is detected while the sensor is detecting the open state of the valve. And a hot water supply control unit that prohibits the hot water supply operation when the sensor detects a hot water supply instruction while detecting the closed state of the valve. And

With this configuration, if the valve that opens and closes the first opening of the pressurized tank is in the normally open state, the hot water supply control unit reads the state of the valve from the sensor, and when the hot water supply instruction is detected, the hot water supply is performed. The start of the operation is instructed, and hot water is poured into the pressurizing chamber of the pressurizing tank through the first opening.

When the valve is closed by the drive device, the internal pressure of the pressurizing chamber rises due to the pressurized air sent into the pressurizing chamber from the second opening, and hot water is vigorously injected from the pressurizing tank into the cup in which the raw material has been charged. Then, the raw material is melted by the hot water poured into the cup.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. It should be noted that components having the same functions as those in FIG. 7 and FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a cup-type vending machine according to the present invention. This is provided with an extraction and filtration device 11 for performing cooking in which a mixture of raw material and hot water is filtered by a filter and an extraction liquid is discharged, in addition to a portion for performing simple cooking in which the raw material is melted with hot water and discharged. .

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
Of the upper chamber 18 and the lower chamber 19 of the extraction chamber body 12 separated by, coffee powder and warm water C are introduced into the upper chamber 18. Here, sham 18
A communication hole 20 that connects the lower chamber 19 with 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. ing. 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. Inhale and pressurize. In the state shown in Fig. 3, the mixed liquid 23 in the lower chamber 19 is filtered.
Forcibly filtered by the pressure difference between the extraction chamber side of 15 and the filtered liquid receiving side, the hot water component in which the coffee extract in the mixed liquid 23 has melted passes through the filter 15 and flows into the downflow passage 25 together with the pressurized air to be pressurized. It is pushed out to the outside by air and discharged to the cup 3.

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 supplied via the second electromagnetic valve 27 to an air pump as a pressurizing means. 28
Sent from.

When performing simple cooking in which the raw material 8 is dissolved in warm water C without using the extraction and filtration device 11, the cup 3 of the charging agent of the raw material 8 is used.
The hot water C is injected in the following manner. Pressure tank 29
A valve 31 is provided in the upper opening 30 [first opening] of the above, 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 31 of the upper opening 30 is opened and the amount of hot water C used for one-time cooking flows down into the pressurizing chamber 42 from the hot water tank 6 through the third electromagnetic valve 35, and thereafter. The valve 31 is kept closed. The fourth solenoid valve 37 is provided in the opening 36 [second opening] of the pressurizing tank 29.
Pressurized air is sent from the air pump 28 via the. Here, since the check valve 33 is attached between the lower opening 32 of the pressurized tank 29 and the hot water supply pipe 34, when pressurized air is sent from the opening 36, the internal pressure of the pressurized chamber 42 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 a specified value determined by the check valve 33. When the internal pressure of the pressurizing chamber 42 exceeds the specified value, the pressurized hot water C is vigorously injected into the cup 3 from the hot water supply pipe 34, and the raw material 8 in the cup 3 and the injected hot water C are mixed. 9 is formed, and the mixed liquid 9 is sufficiently stirred by the force of the warm water C to be injected, and the raw material 8 is dissolved in the warm water C.

FIG. 4 shows a concrete structure of the pressure tank 29 and a drive device for the valve 31.
Shows 43. The valve 31 is attached to the lower end of the valve rod 44,
The upper end of the valve rod 44 extends outside the pressure tank 29.
Reference numeral 45 denotes an electromagnetic plunger, the middle part of which is connected to one end of a lever 47 pivotally supported by a pin 46. A long groove 48 is formed at the other end of the lever 47, and the long groove 48 engages with a pin 49 that is planted at the upper end of the valve rod 44. Therefore, when the electromagnetic plunger 45 is demagnetized, the valve 31 is lowered by the own weight of the valve 31 and the valve rod 44 as shown by the phantom line, and the upper opening 30
Is open. When the electromagnetic plunger 45 is excited, the valve rod 44 is pulled up via the lever 47, and the upper opening 30 is closed by the valve 31. 50 is a micro switch as a sensor that detects the open / closed state of the valve 31.
The open / closed state of the valve 31 is detected from the swing position of 47. 51
Is a hot water supply control unit that controls energization of the third electromagnetic valve 35 and the electromagnetic plunger 45. When the micro switch 50 detects the hot water supply instruction 52 while detecting the open state of the valve 31, the hot water supply control unit 51
Opens the third solenoid valve 35 for a specified time to pour hot water into the hot water supply port 53 of the pressurizing tank 29. The hot water poured into the pouring port 53 flows into the pressurizing chamber 42 through the upper opening 30. Electromagnetic plunger
In the case of an abnormality such that the valve 31 is in the closed state despite being demagnetized, the hot water supply control unit 51 detects from the output of the micro switch 50 that the valve 31 is in the closed state. Even if the hot water supply instruction 52 is detected, the third solenoid valve 35 is not energized. An overflow opening 54 is led to a drainage receiving container by a drainage pipe (not shown).
55 is an air filter.

Thus, when the valve 31 is closed when the hot water supply instruction 52 is detected, the hot water supply control unit 51 prohibits the hot water supply operation.
3. It is possible to prevent the situation where hot water overflows from the opening 54, and the hot water supply control unit transmits a sold-out signal 56 in such a case, and stops the selling operation using the pressurized tank 29.

Here, an inconvenience that occurs when hot water is supplied with the valve 31 closed will be described. Since the pouring port 53 has an opening 54, when the hot water is supplied while the valve 31 is closed, the poured hot water overflows from the opening 54, but the pouring port 53 lowers the level below the opening 54. Warm water remains. If the next sales operation is started in this state and the valve 31 opens normally in this sales operation, not only the amount of hot water required for one sale but also the previous sales operation will be performed. All of the hot water remaining in the pouring port 53 also flows down into the pressurizing chamber 42, is pressurized in the pressurizing tank 29, and hot water is injected into the cup 3 more than necessary, and overflow occurs in the cup 3, which is preferable. Absent.

According to the configuration shown in FIG. 4 in which the hot water supply control unit 51 is provided, the occurrence of such an inconvenient state can be avoided.

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

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a configuration for charging the raw material 8 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, 39C are arranged, the raw material tanks 4A to 4C, the hot water tank 6, and the like,
An X table 41A and a Y table 41B as a cup handling device and a robot hand 41C for gripping the cup are 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 a sales execution instruction is detected, a pulse for driving the X, Y tables 41A, 41B is determined based on the cooking data given at that time to determine which of the cup dispensers 39A to 39C is to be used. A drive pulse is applied to the motors M1 and M2 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 a position below the cup dispenser 39A as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, 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.

Although hot water C was poured from the hot water supply pipe 34 to the cup 3 in the cup station 1 in the above-described embodiment, the tip of the hot water supply pipe 34 may be placed before reaching the cup station 1, for example, in the middle shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The same is true even if they are arranged, hot water C is injected and stirred at this position, and the cooked product is conveyed to the cup station 1.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention as described above, the hot water is pressurized in the pressure tank, and then the hot water is pressurized into the cup in which the raw material has been charged. It is possible to sufficiently stir by the pumping energy of hot water without inserting any equipment, and it is possible to perform very hygienic cooking.

Further, the sensor detects the open / closed state of the valve that opens / closes the first opening serving as the pouring opening of the hot water to the pressurizing chamber of the pressurizing tank, and the hot water supply instruction is issued while the sensor detects the valve closed state. When the hot water supply is detected, the hot water supply control unit prohibits the hot water supply operation.
It is possible to avoid the occurrence of malfunction such that hot water more than the amount required for one sale is injected, and it is possible to improve the reliability of the selling operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a hot water supply path of a cup type vending machine of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are explanatory views of a cooking process of an extraction / filtration device in the same device, and FIG. 4 is a pressure tank in the same device. 5 and 6 are plan views and front views of a device for charging raw materials into a cup, FIG. 7 is a front view of a conventional cup-type vending machine, and FIG. 8 is another. It is explanatory drawing of the cooking process of the prior art example. 3 ... Cup, 6 ... Warm water tank, 8 ... Raw material, 28 ...
Air pump, 29 ... Pressurized tank, 30 ... Upper opening [first opening], 31 ... Valve, 33 ... Check valve, 34 ... Hot water supply pipe, 35 ... Third solenoid valve, 36 ... Opening [second opening],
42 ... Pressurizing chamber, 43 ... Driving device, 45 ... Electromagnetic plunger, 50 ... Micro switch, 51 ... Hot water supply control unit, 52 ...
… Hot water supply instruction, 53 …… Pouring spout, 56 …… Sold out signal.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pressurizing tank having a first opening for communicating the pressurizing chamber with the outside and a second opening for sending pressurized air to the pressurizing chamber, and opening and closing the first opening. A valve and its drive device, and a sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the valve,
When the sensor detects a hot water supply instruction while detecting the open state of the valve, the hot water supply operation to the pressurized tank is executed through the first opening, and the sensor issues the hot water supply instruction while detecting the closed state of the valve. A hot water supply control unit that prohibits the hot water supply operation when detected is provided, and the hot water supplied to the pressurized tank is pressurized with the pressurized air with the valve closed, and is added to the cup in which the raw material has been charged. A cup type vending machine that pours hot water from a pressure tank and melts the raw materials while stirring with the hot water poured into the cup.